


Kan's Daminette December- Cursed Year Edition

by littlekittykanny



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Amaya Wayne-AU, College!AU, Damian is soft for her, Daminette December, Daminette December 2020, Dick loves his brother and will go apeshit, Don't Like Don't Read, Fairy!AU, I will let you know if that's the case, I will tell you when prompts link together, Jason will take every opportunity to piss his little brother off, Marinette is a sweet, Mer!AU, Multi, There may be some call backs to other fics I've written, Tim REALLY hates magic, dancer!au, frozen-esque!au?, lots of soft!Damian Wayne apparently, mermaid!au, naga!AU, nagas are snake people so if you don't like snakes don't google that, some kind of supernatural!au, soul hearts!au, soulmates!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 52,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27812881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlekittykanny/pseuds/littlekittykanny
Summary: Daminette December for the Cursed Year of 2020A selection of short ficlets based off of this years prompts! I hope you all enjoy and have a wonderful season!
Relationships: Daminette - Relationship, I will add as they appear, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Comments: 197
Kudos: 465





	1. Day 1: Inspiration-Amaya Wayne-AU

_ "Why bother following your father's path? What life could that give you? What could he offer you that the League couldn't?" _

_ Acidic green eyes bored into his soul as his mother glared down at him. She had a gun pointed at his head, ignoring the bodies of dead or wounded League members around them. Her face was pulled into a snarl as she demanded to know how he could turn against the very people who gave him life.  _

_ "A real family, trust, love, the list goes on really." _

_ He couldn't see what was going on. There was only smoke surrounding him. The training ground of his former home disappeared, going up in flames. The mountains, trees, the ancient architecture, all gone. The only thing he could see was his mother, the stone floor he was bleeding out on, and the smoke that blocked out everything else from sight.  _

_ "You'll never find anyone to give you those. You'll see. You'll come back to the League eventually, Damian… you're my son after all." _

_ Talia pulled the trigger—  _

Green eyes snapped open to stare at the dark ceiling above him. He could feel his hair sticking to his forehead, sweaty from either sleep or his dream. Phantom hands grabbed at his arms, sending jolts of anxiety and pain up his body. 

The blanket, which was  _ red _ , seemed more ominous and suffocating than before. The soft fabric grated against his fresh nerves. The weight of it felt  _ crushing _ , yet he felt powerless to pull it off of him.

His eyes darted around the room, trying to search for familiar surroundings. He could see his dresser...a wardrobe...a sewing machine. He could see stacks of fabric on a table surrounded by sketchbooks and different coloring utensils. He could see his familiar door, and the familiar windows that marked this room as his.

The next thing to catch his eye was the body that shifted next to him.

The oh so  _ tiny _ person who was blinking up at him sleepily.

"Abun? Abun, bad dream?"

_ Amaya _ , his brain supplied.

_ His daughter. _

Damian gently shifted so that he could wrap his arms around the toddler. Her black hair was in disarray, sticking up in certain places while frizzy in others. She was wearing a pale pink onesie that was decorated with kittens in snow hats and scarves. Her little hands, soft and slightly uncoordinated, patted his face as she sleepily cooed, "'aya love Abun."

He cradled the small girl close, trying to banish the dream from his mind. He was at home. He was safe. His mother wasn't anywhere near them—

"Dami? Are you okay?" a gentle voice asked. 

Damian looked up from his daughter and felt himself  _ melt _ against the mattress.

Standing on the other side of the bed was his  _ wife _ .

Her grey eyes shone with compassion and worry before a bright light overtook her body. The red and black costume that she adorned for patrols disappeared, leaving her in her pink and white pajamas.

Her sweet, heart-shaped face was scrunched in concern. Strands of her silky black hair were falling out of her ponytail. Each black strand stuck out brilliantly against her pale skin, and drew attention to the freckles splashed across the bridge of her nose. 

_ Marinette, _ his brain cooed.

"Abun has bad dream," Amaya yawned, snuggling even closer to her father. "Maman, cuddle? Make it go 'way."

Marinette smiled gently before tucking herself under the covers. She scooched as close as she could to her husband with their daughter in between. She carefully began carding her fingers through his hair, pausing only to kiss the top of her daughter's head. 

"Of course, little one. We'll cuddle Abun till all the bad dreams go away," she murmured.

Amaya made a soft sound of agreement before nodding off to sleep, safe in her parents' arms.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Marinette asked.

"My mother, malāki."

Marinette’s eyes hardened at the mention of Talia. Her hand stilled before moving to cup his cheek softly.

"We will  _ not _ let her have you back," she hissed.

Damian grinned broadly at that before gently tucking strands of his wife's hair behind her ear. He looked down at his daughter, kissing the top of her head before returning his gaze to his wife's. 

"I don't plan on leaving, malāki…my reason for living is right here in my arms."

Marinette smiled before taking his hand and kissing his palm.

"I love you, Damian. Amaya loves you. You're my husband and her father. You're Robin. You don't belong to Talia. You belong to yourself—"

"And the loves of my life, who I willingly give myself to," Damian hummed.

"Smooth talker."

"Look who's talking."

"Mamaaaaan, Abuuuun, go 'eep," a whine interrupted. 

Damian felt his chest rumble with laughter as his daughter pouted. With her lower lip sticking out and teary looking eyes, she looked just like her mother. He pecked his daughter on the forehead, apologizing to his little princess.

Marinette cooed her apology, gently stroking her daughter's hair. As she soothed Amaya back to sleep, her eyes began to droop as well. 

He quickly adjusted the blankets to ensure both his wife and daughter were tucked in properly. He quietly watched as the two most important people in his life drifted off to sleep.

It soothed the ache he had been feeling in his heart to watch them peacefully sleep.

Talia wouldn't take him back.

His inspiration for staying in the light was laying beside him.


	2. Day 2: Swordplay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian watches two strangers fence.
> 
> Oops, now he has a crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics in "" indicates they are speaking French.

The piste was simplistic, but Damian could appreciate it. After all, it was a fencing piste for a  _ public _ school. Clearly it wouldn't be as fancy as any private school, but it was obviously well cared for. The equipment was well maintained, and all of the foils looked to be in good condition as well. The teacher obviously cared for his space and his lendable supplies which made Damian a little more confident in the prowess of the fencers who studied here.

After all, a teacher who took the time and effort to keep the grounds and supplies in good shape must teach his students to treat them in the same way. The students would at the very least know how to handle their blades, though it looked like the majority were foils. He was interested in seeing it in action tomorrow when there would be practice.

However, it seemed he would not have to wait for Monsieur D’Argencourt’s lessons to watch combat take place.

The teen watched quietly as two fencers took to the deserted piste. He recognized the one dressed in red as the esteemed up-and-coming young fencer, Kagami Tsurugi. Her opponent was dressed in the school-given white fencing uniforms, giving no indication of the other's identity. Was the other from D’Argencourt’s School of Fencing? The opponent certainly wasn’t a stranger to holding a foil, but she (at least Damian thought the other was a she) also did not seem to have the same confidence as Tsurugi did based on her slightly hunched over body language.

From the fencer in red’s body language, however, the Tsurugi heir seemed relaxed and almost playful. Perhaps this was not a serious match? Damian really couldn’t think of any other reason to be on a fencing field when there was no practice other than to settle some score of sorts. Maybe the other girl wasn’t a part of the school? Perhaps Damian had stumbled across a lesson of sorts?

“Are you ready?” Tsurugi asked her opponent, saluting before shifting into her stance.

“As ready as I’ll ever be!” her opponent answered, a hint of anxiety in her voice as she saluted. 

“Oh, you’ll be fine! This is to see how well you’re putting it all together.”

With that Tsurugi  _ lunged  _ for her opponent.

Damian thought it was going to be a brief match.

After all, Kagami Tsurugi had been training most of her life to be the best fencer possible. Tomoe Tsurugi had made it very clear that her daughter would be nothing less than the best in order to carry on their proud tradition. Tsurugi was also confident with a blade, never hesitating in her strikes, and making precise and quick decisions. With more experience and nothing to hold her back, Tsurugi easily had the upper-hand in this fight.

Except for the other fencer was incredibly  _ graceful _ .

As fast as Tsurugi moved to strike her opponent, her opponent was just as quick to dodge or force the side of Tsurugi’s blade to strike her rather than the tip. Since both were using foils, this meant that Tsurugi wouldn’t get a point as with foils, one had to strike with the  _ tip _ of the foil for a point to be won. Her opponent was making it extraordinarily hard for Tsurugi to do just that.

He watched in awe as the white-dressed fencer  _ danced _ around Tsurugi’s blows, waiting for the perfect time to strike. The white fencer was constantly moving, and her posture had changed from before. No longer did the white fencer seem timid or hesitant. Her posture had straightened itself up, and she seemed just as determined to win as Tsurugi did.

Damian had no idea how long he’d been watching before Tsurugi was declared the victor by a blond boy he hadn’t even  _ realized  _ was there.

Tsurugi took her mask off, smiling brightly at the one dressed in white.

“That was much better, Mari-hime,” she praised. “You lasted much longer this time!”

“Yeah, Mari! You’re getting pretty good at dodging, but you’re gonna have to start attacking more,” the blond said teasingly. “‘Gami’s not going to break if you try harder to hit her.”

A scoff came from the one dressed in white as she took off her helmet.

He felt his stomach lurch as he stared at the tiny fencer.

Her hair was black that in a certain light looked almost  _ dark blue _ , and it was pulled up into a tight bun towards the base of her neck. A few strands had fallen out, standing starkly out against her pale skin and drawing attention to the spattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were a slate blue-grey framed by beautiful dark eyelashes. Her lips were pulled into a pout as she responded that she  _ knew _ Kagami wasn’t fragile.

Damian wanted to kiss her—

Wait, what?!

“There you are, Damian!” a loud voice said, drawing the attention of the three people.

His green eyes darted to the side to see his eldest brother running towards him. Dick, as usual, had  _ terrible _ timing! Now the group knew he was there! Now he’d have to explain why he was watching them, and he didn’t know what he was going to do if the pretty fencer tried to talk to him.

His older brother skidded to a stop just a foot away from him, his bright blue eyes sparkling in delight only Dick Grayson could find in life.

“Checking out the piste before the competition, Little D? So, how’s it loo— oh!  _ Sorry about that! Were you kids practicing _ ?”

The gorgeous one in white blushed before replying, “ _ Yes, we were—” _

Tsurugi had a snarl on her lips as she raised her foil, her golden brown eyes narrowed.

_ “Who are you! Who gave you permission to be here!” _ she demanded, despite the pretty one’s protests.

“ _ Apologies! My name is Richard Grayson,” _ Dick said with a grin. “ _ My friends and family call me Dick! My little brother is participating in the upcoming fencing competition, and we came to talk to Mister D’Argencourt about Damian practicing here since we’re from America.” _

Tsurugi’s posture relaxed slightly before her gaze was turned to Damian.

_ “I heard there was supposed to be an American participating. Damian Wayne, yes? What do you want?” _ she asked, crossing her arms.

“ _ I wanted to see the state of the piste and equipment. Mister D’Argencourt takes good care of things which I’m happy to see. He must care a lot about his fencing,”  _ Damian answered, trying to put on a bored face.

“ _ Of course he does! Mister D’Argencourt is the best fencing teacher in Paris!”  _ the blond said defensively.

_ “Adrien, he wasn’t implying anything bad about Mister D’Argencourt!” _ the pretty one sighed, before smiling at Dick and Damian. “ _ Hello, my name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The blond is my friend, Adrien Agreste, and the one dressed in red is Kagami Tsurugi. Do you need help with anything? Did you need to find Mister D’Argencourt?” _

Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Marinette...what a pretty name for such a pretty girl. Damian felt his pulse quicken again at the beautiful smile he was being graced with. He wondered if she was always so friendly—

“ _ No, I already talked to Mister D’Argencourt, but thank you! Marinette, huh? A very lovely name for a sweet girl. Wouldn’t you agree, Damian?” _ Dick said, a tone of teasing creeping into his voice as he noticed how Damian was  _ staring _ at her.

Damian could feel his face heat up as he coughed into his fist.

“ _ Miss Dupain-Cheng, your evasive skills are quite a sight to see. Do you fence often?” _ he said, forcing his voice to come out steady, ignoring the fluttering in his chest.

“ _ Ah, thank you! Um...actually, ‘Gami just started teaching me how to fence around...what was it like two months ago? _ ” Marinette said, rubbing the back of her neck shyly.

Two months?

“ _ You’re a quick study, _ ” he complimented. “ _ That’s quite a feat. You should be proud. _ ”

Marinette’s face turned bright red as her friends continued to compliment her, saying that of  _ course _ she was a quick study! Marinette was brilliant! Marinette was the best! Marinette was a hard-worker!

Despite the fact he could feel his brother’s incredulous stare, Damian gave her a small smile before saying, “ _ I hope to see you fence more, Miss Dupain-Cheng. You have talent. _ ”

With that, he grabbed Dick’s wrist  _ hard _ and began to drag his brother away from the group of Parisians. He was fighting back his own blush as he thought about what he’d said to her. He hoped nothing he’d said had sounded weird. Just fencing stuff, right? Right, compliments on her fencing like anyone else would give her! He’d given her no reason to think that his traitorous heart sped up the second she dodged a blow or smiled at him.

Damian didn’t relent until they were in the car, Bruce giving both of them a confused look. Dick was smiling like he’d won the lottery, and Damian was  _ flushed _ . His eldest began poking his youngest while grinning like a madman, giggles escaping him. Before Bruce could ask what was going on, Damian exploded.

“YES, SHE WAS PRETTY, GRAYSON! NOW STOP!”

“Who was pretty?” Bruce asked, looking between his two sons.

“There was a group practicing on the piste! Damian seemed interested in a  _ particular  _ fencer, and all he could do was compliment her fencing!” Dick said gleefully. “He was trying so hard not to blush!”

Damian grumbled a little bit before crossing his arms.

“I’m not talking about this anymore,” he hissed.

“Oh, don’t worry! I’ll talk about Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” his brother responded. “I’ve never heard you compliment  _ anyone _ like that! You’ve definitely got a crush!”

“Shut. Up. Grayson.”

Bruce hummed a bit to himself...he’d have to do some research on this Marinette Dupain-Cheng. If Dick and his other children had anything to say about it, Bruce (and therefore Damian) would be seeing a  _ lot more _ of her.


	3. Day 3: Legend- Fae!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian seeks out something in the wood to save his people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm posting this a little later than I usually do. I had a massive migraine that kept waking me up, and I didn't get much sleep.

The woods whispered to him softly, their voices singing softly to him. The dark haired man gently pressed his hand against the bark of a willow tree that rested amongst its fellows on the edge of the tree line. He gazed at the pond nearby, watching the wind create ripples among the surface. He could see fish swimming around in the pond. He could hear the chirping of healthy frogs and toads as well as the songs of birds. Looking into the tree line, he could see shadows of creatures moving about. This was the only part of the land that had remained untouched by whatever blight had come upon the land.

The rest of the pastures and fields were dry as bone. The land was wilting faster than it could be saved, and neither he nor his family could ascertain why. The cattle starved as there was no food, and the people were starving as there were no crops as well. Anything they tried to plant withered away to nothing. Some believed it to be a curse. Others believed it simply to be a bad year. Arguments broke out amongst the townsfolk daily, and if he didn’t find a solution soon, he feared the village would tear itself apart.

Growing up with his mother and grandfather, he’d heard much about the supposed creatures that lived amongst the woodland. The legends told of beings who with just a touch of their finger, could cause a bloom or clean the water. Their very voice could cure one’s ails, and their blessing would ensure one’s survival. They were the fair folk of the woods. His mother told him that their family had once been blessed by such a creature...and that’s why they could hear the songs of woodland. 

His father, on the other hand, was much more skeptical about things. He warned his people not to look for all their answers out in the woods. It was a fair thing to tell the people, as his mother warned him when he was small not to anger the fairies who lived in the woods. She warned that they could be just as cruel and malicious as they could be kind and generous. If the humans came and continuously asked for favors, if they took the fairy’s powers for granted, the results would not be favorable.

But they were in dire straits, and he could not think of any other options.

So, with one last look over at the village, brown with decay, he made his choice. He would seek out the fairy folk in the hopes of restoring the damage to his home. He picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, taking a deep breath in. He tried to focus on the voices whispering to him sweetly, knowing that they would be his guiding force.

He stepped into the woods which whispered,  _ “Welcome home, Damian.” _

————————

A dark haired fairy felt an electric sensation shoot up her spine.

Her pale hands froze mid-spell, causing the flower in between them to freeze mid-bloom. She could hear the woods call out to her, chanting her name  _ loudly _ . Her slate blue-grey eyes widened in shock as she felt her wings begin to  _ heat up _ and flutter like they were possessed. Her head whipped around to look at her parents who were looking at her in excitement.

“Oh! Look, Tom! Marinette’s wings are glowing!” her mother, Sabine, cried with joy. “This must mean it is time for her journey to begin!”

“Tikki has blessed us today! Oh, Marinette, I wonder what your task shall be. Perhaps helping in the healing halls? Helping with a new species of plant? Assisting the woodland creatures?” Tom said, grabbing Sabine’s hand.

Marinette didn’t feel like it would be that simple.

The intensity of the  _ burning _ in her wings, and the way her body itched to  _ fly _ made her think she would have to travel to see what her task would be. She stood up slowly from where she was kneeling, whispering the spell’s final words in order to ensure the flower would bloom. She quietly wiped her hands on her apron before adjusting her skirt.

“I wonder as well. Maman, I’m going to make myself a sack. I fear I won’t be home in time for supper,” Marinette told her parents. “I have a feeling it won’t be a quick task, Papa.”

“Well whatever the task, our Marinette will accomplish it, no sweat!” Tom replied, letting go of his wife’s hand to hug his daughter. “After all, the Goddess has blessed you well.”

Marinette smiled, hugging her father back before quickly racing over to hug her mother. Once she was done, she darted back inside their home. Her smile dropped, and her eyes became stormy. She couldn’t get her father’s words out of her head...blessed by the Goddess.

Tikki, Goddess of Creation, had created the fair folk many eons ago. She had granted them little bits of her own power, but in return, each fairy must go on a quest of sorts. The fair folk had to prove to the Goddess that they were deserving of her gifts...and normally tasks were not terribly difficult. Most of Marinette’s village had already completed their tasks by nurturing and keeping out destructive forces from the wood. Her childhood friend, Nino, was tasked with caring for the turtles in the forest’s different ponds when a strange sickness began harming the turtles. Nino had been able to complete the task with help from the village elders, but it hadn’t taken him more than a few months to beat back the sickness.

Compared to Marinette, Nino’s powers were...well lesser in a sense.

For whatever reason, Marinette was chosen to be Tikki’s blessed fairy. On the day of her birth, a red ladybug had appeared on her right wrist and remained there as she grew. While others found their powers limited, Marinette had creation practically at her fingertips! As she grew in power, the woods began to speak to her more, telling her there would come a time her powers were needed.

Her task would likely be much more challenging than simply taking care of ill turtles...but Marinette knew she had to accept the call. Every fairy had to accept the call.

She threw her bag over her shoulder and took off, leaving without another word.

———————

The whispers were telling him he was getting close.

Damian sat down by the edge of a creek, feeling exhausted. It had been hours since he’d left the village, and he figured it had to be somewhere around midday. Pulling out a bit of bread, he absent mindedly nibbled on it, trying to think of how much farther he could progress. He wanted to make sure he’d be somewhere safe before nightfall. He knew there were bears and wolves in these woods, and he did not wish to have to battle one. Normally a challenge would have thrilled him, but he could also feel his stomach gnawing at him. In his state of near starvation, he knew he’d be no match for any animal that decided to try and fight him.

He continued to nibble on the bread, careful of his rationing, before pausing.

_ “She’s here!” _ the wind sang.

And from the other side of the creek appeared the most gorgeous creature Damian had ever seen.

Petite in height and stature, her almost-translucent pink wings were  _ glowing _ brightly. Those slender and delicate looking wings reminded him of a butterfly and only drew his gaze further in. She had a pale, heart shaped face with delicate looking features. She had a button nose that was splashed with freckles and pale pink lips that reminded him of rose petals. Her hair looked almost blue in a certain light, pulled up into two small buns on either side of her head.

She was dressed in a short pink dress that fell to about her mid-thigh. An apron decorated with ladybugs was wrapped around her waist, and much to Damian’s surprise, the young lady was barefoot. She did not seem to mind the hardness of the ground, nor did she seem to mind how the plants skimmed across her legs.

Her eyes...those were what captured him though.

They were a slate blue-grey, reminding him of the sky as dark clouds rolled in, with long, dark lashes. They were almost unreadable as they met his jade green eyes, but Damian felt no fear. Her eyes were not unkind despite him being unable to figure out how she was feeling about a human spotting her.

He scrambled to his feet before kneeling down in her direction.

“Oh great and mighty spirit of the wood, my name is Damian. My village rests just outside your wood...and I come seeking aid for them. You see, all of our crops, fields, and pastures have dried up and died. We do not know if it is a blight, a curse, or simply our own stupidity, but my people are  _ starving _ . These woods are the only place untouched by the ravage, so I came here to seek help,” he began, his voice breaking slightly. “Please, I’ll pay any price...just please help me save my people.”

The glowing from the woman’s back died down as she fluttered over the creek, touching down just a few feet from him. Her kindly looking face seemed puzzled before she murmured, “You know, you’re not supposed to tell the Fair Folk your real name.”

“And my mother taught me that insulting your intelligence would prove fatal for me,” Damian replied.

“You’ll really pay any price if I restore your village and keep them from starving?” she asked. “Are you sure you don’t want to be more careful with your words? Once I perform this act...that statement will be binding...you’ll have to pay whatever price the magic and Goddess demand.”

“Are you trying to warn me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought the fairy folk were all for beguiling people.”

“Not all of us...my name is Marinette. I will help you—”

_ “But you must remain here, _ ” the wood whispered.  _ “You must remain in the woods and be her groom. Fulfill the contract your ancestors made. _ ”

Marinette’s face went bright red before she stammered out that she didn’t think the price needed to be  _ that _ steep. The fairy continued to babble on about how they’d just met and marriage was a big deal! Besides, neither Marinette or Damian were involved in making the aforementioned contract, so how was that any fair!

Normally Damian would have been upset by the woman’s non-stop chatter, but her voice was soft and soothing like a flowing stream. He also felt his chest warm up a little bit as he listened to the  _ fairy _ try to reason with the Gods, especially her Goddess, to not chain Damian to her. She...she didn’t  _ want _ to take him away from his family. She didn’t  _ want  _ to whisk him away and make him forget about everything he loved. She wanted him to be  _ free _ ... _ she _ wanted to be free too.

_ “Ra’s Al Ghul asked for longevity. It was given to him, but the price was that when his daughter came of age, she was to go into the wood and wed one of Goddess Tikki’s people. She never came...but her son has...the chosen of Plagg must marry the chosen of Tikki as written in the agreement. _ ”

“My grandfather? He made a deal with Plagg?!” Damian asked, snapping to attention.

The God of Destruction and Chaos?! What was his grandfather thinking—

_ “Yes. Ra’s knew that Tikki would never allow him such a treasure, so he tried to deceive Plagg into blessing him. Plagg was not deceived, but given that Ra’s was one of his chosen ones, he decided to bless him. Tikki found out and interrupted the ceremony, leaving it incomplete. To fix the damage done, Tikki and Plagg came to the agreement that the chosen of Plagg would wed the chosen of Tikki, and Plagg’s chosen would come to reside amongst the immortal.” _

Damian remembered how his grandfather had lived so much longer than other humans...but he also remembered the detriment it had on him. His grandfather had gone insane, screaming that something was incomplete...that he, Talia, and Damian were incomplete. Would that be his fate should he go home? Could he save his mother from that fate were he to marry Marinette and fulfill the bargain?

“Marinette...I would be willing to pay this price if you would be willing to have me,” he said softly. “If it is my destiny then I shall thank the Goddess that she’s given me someone so beautiful with a good heart to match.”

Marinette’s face flushed a deeper red as she looked at the man. Her expression was a mix of awe and shock as she murmured, “You think I’m beautiful?”

“The most breath-taking creature I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting,” Damian responded.

“You’ll give up your freedom, your life that you have now, and you’ll wed someone you barely know—”

“For the sake of my people? Yes, I will and gladly. I won’t have any freedom, family, or a life if my village doesn’t get help. My family will starve and die. The people will starve and die, and that’s only if civil unrest doesn’t outbreak and kill them first.”

The beautiful fairy was quiet for a moment before those petal pink lips stretched into a smile.

“You really care about them, don’t you?” she hummed. “I accept your bargain. I will help you...and in return you shall settle the old agreement.”

Damian felt his heart skip a beat and a sense of  _ rightness _ settle over him as her small fingers grabbed his hand. She was so much  _ smaller _ than him, and yet...he could sense so much  _ strength _ emanating from that tiny body. He knew she was the one. He knew she could help his people...she was one of the fairies from the legends.

She was the Ladybug.


	4. Day 4: Flowers- Dancer AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick forgets Mar'i at dance class.
> 
> Damian gets the nice teaching assistant a present.

The last place Damian Wayne wished to be was at a flower shop with his overbearing older brother.

Especially when the aforementioned brother was causing a goddamn  _ scene _ over some roses and how he needs them  _ stat _ .

Did the dark haired teen give a flying fuck that his older brother needed to apologize to his wife for missing yet  _ another _ one of Mar’i’s ballet performances? Absolutely fucking not. Damian was of the opinion that his brother had dug his own grave when he agreed to pick up a shift without double checking his calendar. He knew that Kor’i had put the date in Dick’s phone calendar so that way he would have  _ no excuse _ to miss it.

He watched his brother sweating over what colors to get and panicking that it wouldn’t be good enough. The poor florist, to her credit, was trying her best to calm Dick down, asking about what kinds of things his wife liked. While she attempted to corral Dick, Damian pulled out his cellphone, only to see that he had a message.

**Firefly:**

**Hey, do you know when Dick is going to get here? Kor’i said he was supposed to pick Mar’i up from ballet practice.**

**Me:**

**Shit, hang on. I don’t think the idiot realized he was supposed to pick her up. Is Mar’i okay?**

**Firefly:**

**She’s okay. We were playing a game, but now I think I might just bring her into my point class. Mar’i’s been begging me to show her my dance anyway.**

**Me:**

**Thanks, Firefly. I’ll text you when we’re on our way.**

“Hey, Dickhead!” Damian shouted.

“Not  _ now _ , Damian! I need to pick out an ‘I’m sorry’ bouquet!” Dick responded, slightly hysteric.

Damian groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He heard a soft laugh and turned to see an elderly woman looking at him. Her grey hair was pulled up into a bun, and her kind brown eyes were looking at him. After taking a good look at her, he realized that this must be the woman’s mother or grandmother due to their facial similarities.

“Can I help you, dear?” the woman asked, carefully tending to a few of the flowers as she spoke.

He was about to say no when he realized that he owed Firefly an apology/thank you gift for looking after Mar’i. He rubbed the bridge of his nose again before explaining the situation to the elderly woman. He told her how Dick had forgotten it was his turn to pick up his daughter from dance class, and how the teaching assistant was looking after her. He wanted to get flowers that would show his appreciation of her without it being too terribly suggestive. He told her that he’d only known Firefly for six months, and he didn’t want to frighten her by bringing her roses out of nowhere, especially as a thank you gift.

“Describe this ‘Firefly’ to me? Give me an idea of who she is?” the woman said. “What is her essence?”

“She’s...she’s a wonderful person. She takes several dance classes at the studio, but also spends her free time teaching the younger classes. My niece is five years old, and she can get frustrated very easily, but not with Firefly. She is always so patient and understanding. She lets Mar’i take breaks when she needs them and is always willing to take it step-by-step to help her master their steps.

She can soothe a crying child with ease. She carries around cartoon band-aids just in case someone gets hurt. She packs extra snacks and little water bottles for them. She— she just adores those kids, and they love her back. She’s like a warm smile on a bad day, or a nice fire when it snows.”

The elderly woman smiled brightly before saying, “I have just the bouquet for her. Let me get it all put together.”

Damian raised his eyebrow but allowed the woman to go about her business. He watched as the woman put together red chrysanthemums, coreopsis, gardenias, and honeysuckle. It was a bright and cheerful bouquet, making him think of her smile. He gently took the flowers from the woman before offering her payment. He made small talk with her while he waited for Dick to finish paying for his obnoxiously big bouquet of roses.

“Are you finally done? Because we need to pick up your daughter from her dance class that ended almost an hour ago,” Damian sighed, looking at his older brother.

He fought back a cackle as his brother’s face paled and his eyes widened. He carefully held his bouquet as Dick raced over to the car, throwing the door open and jamming himself in the driver’s seat. He slid into the passenger’s seat, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

Firefly hadn’t sent him any more messages, but he was fairly certain that she had begun her pointe class by now. He placed his phone back in his jacket pocket, calmly watching as his brother frantically babbled about what a terrible parent he was, and how mad Kor’i would be when she found out. 

“You need to calm down, Grayson,” Damian sighed. “You forgot. It happens. You seriously need a nap and maybe a few days off from patrol. Mar’i’s fine, and Kor’i will forgive you. You idiots usually work things out.”

“How do you know she’ll be okay?” Grayson snapped, looking worried.

“The teaching assistant texted me,” he replied. “She wanted to know when you were coming to get Mar’i. She’s looking after her.”

“...you have the teaching assistant’s number? And she has yours?” Dick asked, slightly shocked.

“Duh, Kor’i put me as an emergency contact. She’s reached out to me a few times when she couldn’t get a hold of you or Kor’i. She’s nice. Mar’i really seems to like her.”

The rest of the drive was silent which slightly unnerved Damian. He couldn’t tell what was going through Dick’s head, but at least he’d stopped freaking out. He wasn’t sure what he’d done if Dick hadn’t shut up…well he probably would have just smacked him, but still.

When they pulled up to the dance studio, Dick darted out from the car while Damian slowly got out of the car. He made sure that the bouquet he’d gotten for Firefly was still in good condition. He walked into the studio and waved at the receptionist. The purple haired woman smiled back and waved before letting him know that Mar’i was in the pointe class with the others.

“Thanks, Delilah,” Damian said. “Mind babysitting my older brother while I grab her?”

Delilah smiled before calling for Mr. Grayson to come over to the desk. Dick, as frazzled and exhausted as he was, fell for the trap. The young woman then proceeded to talk to Dick about the costumes that were being considered for the upcoming winter ballet performance. While his brother was distracted by Delilah and costumes, Damian snuck away towards the back rooms. He knew which door was to the pointe class (as several of the dancers had shown him before). Damian knocked on the door before opening it slowly, peeking his head inside.

He felt his heart skip a beat as he spotted Firefly. She was wearing a red leotard with skin colored tights and black pointe shoes. She was one of the smallest dancers in her class, but Damian thought that only worked in her favor. Her slender body and graceful movements drew the eyes towards her. Especially since her legs looked amazing in those tights.

Her silky-looking black hair was pulled into two buns on either side of her head, reminding him a little bit of Minnie Mouse. Her pale heart shaped face was currently displaying a beautiful grin. Her big grey-blue eyes were shimmering with affection and warmth. She was currently bent over, holding hands with little Mar’i. 

The black haired kindergartener was trying to stand on her tippy toes like the older dancers. She looked up at the teaching assistant, her green eyes wide and delighted. The tanned skinned little girl was currently dressed in a pink leotard with an attached tutu. Her little ballet shoes were pale pink, standing out against the black of her teacher’s. 

“Mr. Wayne! Are you here for Mar’i?” another one of the dancer’s called out. “Or are you here for Marinette?”

Mar’i’s attention turned towards the door. The second she spotted her uncle, the little half-Tamerianian released her teacher’s hands. She grabbed her dance bag from the corner of the room and threw it on her back. She then ran over to him, calling out his name.

“Uncle Dami! Uncle Dami! Look! I’m doing big girl dance!” she said brightly. “Miss Nettie was showin’ me her dance! Isn’t she pretty, Uncle Dami!”

Damian smiled, scooping her up with his free arm.

“I saw, little star. She is pretty. Now why don’t you and I go thank Ms.Nettie for watching you?”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that! I love spending time with Mar’i,” the dark haired dancer said, waving her hands frantically.

Firefly, or Marinette, had walked over to the pair. Her pretty face was flushed, and Damian felt a strange warmth in his chest. He wasn’t sure what it was...after all he barely knew her. However, she had shown Mar’i nothing but kindness and affection since meeting her, and it stirred something within him.

“Here, Firefly. These are a thank you for watching after Mar’i,” Damian said, handing her the bouquet.

Marinette took the flowers from him, a soft gasp leaving her lips. She cradled the bouquet, stroking the soft petals carefully. Her face was even pinker (if that was even possible), and her eyes lit up. She smiled at him fondly before saying they were gorgeous and thanking him.

“Firefly, you more than deserve it. I’ll see you next week? I’ll be dropping Mar’i off,” he said with a grin.

She nodded, clearly trying to ignore the chatter of the other dancers who were now whispering about them. The only thing he regretted was the fact that now Marinette would have to deal with gossipy dancers asking her if there was anything between her and Damian. He knew she could handle it though because she had handled him and Mar’i at their grumpiest. She was delicate-looking but strong and powerful in her own ways.

“Bye-bye! See you next week, Ms. Nettie!” Mar’i said, waving from her spot in her uncle’s arms.

“Bye-bye, Mar’i! I’ll see you and your uncle next week,” Marinette replied, holding the flowers close to her. “Goodbye, Damian.”

“Goodbye, Firefly,” he said softly, adjusting Mar’i in his arms. “Let’s go little lady. Your daddy’s ready to go crazy.”

Mar’i giggled before nodding. She hoped that her uncle Dami would ask Ms. Nettie out soon. Mar’i really liked Ms. Nettie. She was kind, sweet, and always had snacks and band aids on her. She had a bright smile and warm personality, and uncle Dami seemed to be happy around her. Ms. Nettie really seemed to like her uncle Dami too with how much she was blushing when Mar’i mentioned him.

The kindergartner smiled. If she kept this up, maybe she’d get a new auntie!


	5. Day 5: Sweater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-Amaya, during Marinette’s pregnancy
> 
> Damian is soft... and I may have gotten off track with the prompt...

Grey-blue eyes stared into the floor length mirror, hands ghosting over her abdomen. She was shaking slightly as she gently pressed her fingers against the soft yarn covering her body. She knew she wouldn’t be able to feel anything just yet as she was only about into the third month, but she still felt some awe in the fact that just under her fingers was a  _ baby _ . Her little baby was growing right under her hands.  _ Their baby. _

Her heart fluttered a little as she wondered what the little one would look like. Would they have their daddy’s darker skin? Would they have his jade green eyes that she loved so much? Would their hair be more like hers, soft and straight, or their daddy’s unruly and slightly fluffy hair? Would they have his more prominent jaw and facial features or would they be soft and rounded like their mother? She felt tears well up in her eyes as she pictured a little baby with her husband’s gorgeous eyes and her little button nose.

“Malāki? Why are you crying?” a gentle voice asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Looking in the mirror, she could see the handsome face of her husband. He looked  _ exhausted _ , dark bags under his eyes that looked a little dimmer in the current lighting. His pitch black hair was in even more disarray than usual. He was covered in bandages, telling her that patrol must have been rough. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to his chest.

“...who do you think the baby will look like, Damian?” she asked, turning to look at him with a soft smile.

He smiled broadly before kissing her forehead.

“I hope our baby looks just like their mother,” he murmured. “Your beautiful eyes that shine with kindness. Your beautiful smile that never fails to brighten up a room. Your sweetly shaped face that fits perfectly into my hands. I hope our baby has all of those, Marinette.”

Marinette smiled at Damian, twisting in his arms so she was facing him.

“Sweet-talker,” she mumbled, cupping his face in her hands. “I love you, Dami.”

“I love you too, my darling,” he said, gently running his hands down her sides. “Especially when you steal my sweaters. Have I ever told you that black is your color?”

Marinette smiled brightly with her cheeks flushing. It was true, Marinette had missed Damian, so she’d gone into his dresser and taken out one of his favorite sweaters. It was an ink black sweater made of some of the softest yarn Marinette had ever felt. The sleeves covered her hands, and the hem fell past her mid-thigh. She felt a little spark of worry travel through her as she thought about how she would soon get bigger as her child grew. Would Damian still think she was beautiful when she was round with their child?

“You look beautiful,” Damian said, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “You’ll always be beautiful to me. Feel free to keep stealing my sweaters, malāki. I’ll buy bigger ones the further you get into the pregnancy. No, you will not be fat, so don’t you even think that.”

“But what if I get all round and pudgy—”

Damian knelt down on the floor, his hands on her hips. He looked up with adoration in his eyes before saying, “You are growing another  _ person _ inside your body. You are giving me the biggest blessing someone could give me...a  _ child _ of our own. You are a gorgeous, strong, talented, courageous, and compassionate individual, and I’m honored to have you as the mother of my child. Your sweaters, my sweaters, big sweaters, little sweaters, all of that doesn’t matter. You are my  _ wife _ , and you’re carrying  _ our baby _ . No one could be more beautiful than you.”

Damian pressed a kiss to her abdomen as Marinette began to tear up again. He got to his feet, and gently pulled her towards the bed.

“Come lay down, malāki,” he whispered. “We can cuddle together.”

Marinette nodded and followed Damian to their bed. He helped Marinette adjust herself so that she’d be laying in a comfortable position. Once she was comfortable, Damian began to run his hands over her body, taking in the texture of his sweater in contrast with the soft skin of his wife. He kissed her forehead, watching Marinette as she began to fall asleep.

“I love you, Marinette. I love you, and our baby. You’re perfect,” he mumbled as he too, began to drift off to sleep.


	6. Day 6: Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce has some hopes for his son.

Bruce worried about his youngest son quite frequently.

He knew Damian’s childhood wasn’t an easy one. He had been trained constantly by both his mother and his grandfather, two of the most ruthless assassins Bruce ever had the displeasure of meeting. He was taught that he was a weapon to be used to kill and that he had no other destiny than to take over the mantle of Batman and lead the League of Assassins. He knew that Damian hadn’t originally wanted to go with Bruce, but he had been forced to by Talia. Once he was with Bruce, Damian was met with ideals that flew in the face of everything Talia and Ra’s Al Ghul had ever taught the boy.

It had been confusing and stressful for Damian to understand why Bruce wouldn’t tolerate things that Talia encouraged. Damian had been angry a lot of the time about it, demanding to know why things were so different here than they were with the League. Bruce had done his best to explain things, but he knew the boy had still been greatly confused.

Damian was also pressed to work  _ with _ others, rather than alone as he was so used to doing, for the first time. Dick and Tim’s presence, and later Jason’s, had made the boy insecure in ways he’d never admit. Bruce knew that Damian wasn’t sure exactly where his place in this family was, and that unsettled the younger boy. With Talia and Ra’s, Damian’s position had always been defined as the  _ heir _ . With his brothers though, he was now one child out of  _ several _ . 

He knew it was also hard for Damian to trust others because of the abuse he’d gone through. He knew Damian had underlying anxiety from having to be constantly vigilant wherever he was lest he risk his own life. He knew Damian was always waiting for the other shoe drop, waiting for the person to hurt him in some way shape or form. 

Bruce knew that Damian would have a hard time developing relationships with others, and it had worried him greatly. He didn’t want Damian to be alone...but he also knew he couldn’t press the young man to open up to someone else. It became something of a family worry that Damian wouldn’t be able to develop a healthy relationship with someone else outside of the family.

And then Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng stumbled into Damian’s life.

Jared, or Jagged as Bruce knew he liked to be called, had brought the young lady along to last year’s Wayne Christmas Gala. The shy young woman had seemed to win over Damian in a heartbeat, to the point he was offering her his jacket and his drink to warm her up. Bruce had to admit that there wasn't much Marinette hid about herself.

Her eyes were open and honest, and more often than not, her posture betrayed how she felt about things. There was an innate gentleness to her that drew people in, and her firm convictions convinced people to stay. He could tell that Marinette was holding some things back, but it wasn't in a malicious sense. It was more in a "I don't know you very well, so you're not privileged to know this" sort of way.

Damian had gotten her number, and the pair had begun talking to one another quite frequently after the gala. From what he'd told Bruce, Damian was quite fond of Marinette.

They had begun video chatting after the first two months. Bruce had come past Damian’s room to see him smiling at the dark haired girl who was a whirlwind of activity on the other side. He'd even heard Damian talking her through moments of panic which filled him with pride as he realized how much his son had grown.

Which led Bruce to the warm feeling he was currently basking in as he looked down at the couch.

Marinette had come in from Paris for a break, and Damian had invited her to stay with them. With several holiday galas coming up, she was feeling burnt out and exhausted. She just wanted some peace and quiet before the holidays kicked into full gear. 

Damian had also been feeling stressed with increased patrols and planning holiday events with his brothers for Wayne Enterprises. He was getting increasingly cantankerous with his brothers' arguing, and he just wanted it to be done.

When the pair finally saw each other, they'd collapsed on the couch. Marinette had maneuvered them so that she was laying on her back, and Damian’s head was laying on her stomach. Damian had his arms wrapped around her waist and snuggled close.

Marinette had lulled Damian to sleep by slowly carding her fingers through his hair and talking softly about her flight. Once Damian had drifted off, Marinette fell asleep as well, one hand still in Damian's hair and the other on his shoulder. 

The pair was still fast asleep, not moving an inch. Both appeared to be sleeping peacefully, their faces relaxed. Alfred had come by and covered them with a blanket, but both seemed to be completely knocked out, taking comfort from the warmth of one another.

It alleviated a bit of Bruce’s anxiety to see Damian getting along so well with someone. He knew that Damian would one day have to find comfort from someone else. His brothers wouldn't always be there, and neither would Bruce or Alfred. Damian would need to find someone else to share his burdens with that he could trust. 

Seeing as he was most vulnerable while he slept, Damian clearly felt safe in Marinette’s arms to be able to fall into a deep sleep as he had. Perhaps Marinette would be Damian's new source of comfort…

Bruce could only hope.


	7. Day 7: Chill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette doesn't do well in the cold...but at least she's got Damian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the late chapter! Work has been a nightmare with new procedures due to COVID-19. Hope everyone is staying safe!

The sky was streaked blood red as the sun set, beautiful shades of orange, pink, and yellow peaking out here and there. The clouds seemed to be rolling in from one side, dark and ominous, promising to bring poor weather with them. The wind was blowing steadily, whipping dark strands of hair across a young woman’s face. She sighed, absent-mindedly rubbing her hand against the metal of the park bench she was sitting on. Said park was actually rather busy, despite the sun setting. It was only around four-thirty or so in the evening after all.

Grey-blue eyes watched as people walked to and fro, some going up to vendors, others just simply trying to get to their destination as quickly as they could. Most of the vendors out now were selling hot items due to the dropping temperatures. Hot chocolate, hot apple cider, hot dogs, and other kinds of hot food were being sold by various people peppered in different areas of the park as well as highly priced tourist bullshit.

She could easily spot her classmates gathered around the hot chocolate vendor, chattering happily as a blond boy helped them order their drinks. She didn’t hold out for any hope of one of them bringing her a drink. She expected to be left out as usual. After all, no one wanted to be friends with a  _ bully _ .

A girl with long brown hair, with the two front pieces tied to look like sausages, laughed loudly as she cooed over the blond boy. Her green eyes were fixated on him as she giggled, batting her eyes. She was dressed in a pink wool jacket— _ that had been stolen from her _ — and was acting like she was the most innocent thing in the world. She kissed the blond’s cheek before linking their arms together.

A fresh gust of wind sent a chill down her spine as she tried not to cry, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. She couldn’t let Lie-la win. She couldn’t show that she was hurting! She could get through this, and then as soon as she graduated, she could leave her classmates all behind.

She shivered again, feeling the wind bite her skin, despite the long-sleeved red top she had on. Without her coat, she knew she was going to be miserable, but the teacher refused to leave her behind at the hotel. The teacher told her it was too risky as she could wander off and start mischief if she wasn’t being monitored. So, she’d been forced to go out in the only outfit she’d had left (as a lot of her clothes had  _ mysteriously _ disappeared) which was a cotton long-sleeve red top, a black skirt, and a pair of black tights which, thankfully, had been packed with a much thicker, skin-toned cotton tights. Whoever had stolen her clothes must have thought those were a single pair of tights rather than two put together. Luckily for her, that meant at least her legs were warm while they walked through downtown Gotham.

However, she did realize that  _ certain _ people in the group were making it  _ impossible _ for her to get another coat. They had  _ avoided _ clothing stores, and due to the buddy system, she’d been forced to stay with the group. No one had seemed to care that as the day progressed, she was growing even more exhausted and having difficulties staying awake. She really hadn’t expected them to care anyway, but it was still infuriating.

She was getting even  _ worse _ now.

She’d sat down on the bench after her vision had begun to go blurry, exhaustion gnawing at her. It was too cold for her...she needed to sleep. She needed to be warm...she could wait to be warm...

Just as those grey-blue eyes were about to shut, she felt a heavy weight and warmth seep into her chilled arms.

“Marinette? Where is your coat?” a firm voice asked, tinged with concern.

Marinette weakly jerked her head in the direction of her classmates. The second she did, she could feel hands tightening around her shoulders. A low growl came from above her as the hands began rubbing her arms, trying to warm her up.

“Say the word, and I will not only get your coat back, but I will break every bone in her lying body.”

Marinette hummed before murmuring, “Can’t break bones, Dami. Wanna go home...my stuff keeps going missing.”

“I’m calling Grayson. He’ll get your things from the hotel,” Dami growled, moving in front of Marinette.

She smiled the second she saw his jade green eyes gazing at her. His handsome face was pinched in a look of concern. He made quick work of buttoning up his heavy wool coat around her. He even uncurled his scarf from around his neck and wrapped it tightly around hers. He kissed her forehead gently before picking up his phone.

She watched him make the phone call, snuggling into his jacket. Marinette took comfort in Dami’s voice, strong and firm as he told his brother what was going on. She knew things were going to be okay, so long as Dami was with her. The second he sat down, she snuggled into his side, trying to gain more warmth.

“Marinette...why didn’t you mention this was going on? I asked if there was anything I needed to know for your trip?” he asked, rubbing her arm to get her warmed up.

“Wasn’t important, Damian,” she murmured. “Didn’t want to burden you.”

Marinette felt herself being lifted up and settled onto someone’s lap. She looked at her friend groggily before he huffed, “We’re friends, Marinette. You’re not a burden to me, and you never will be.”

He kissed the top of her head again before mumbling about how his brother would be coming to get them soon. He continued to rub his hands against her body, trying to keep her warm. He could feel her settling against his chest, her head on his shoulder. He felt her breathing even out as he held her tightly. He vaguely heard the chatter of her classmates coming closer to them, and his grip on Marinette became more protective.

Despite only having met Marinette face-to-face two days ago, Damian was extremely attached to the petite girl now perched on his lap.

When his father had first tasked him with setting up a schedule with the class president of the winning class from this year’s foreign exchange program, Damian had wanted no part in it. He’d heard his older brothers complain about it before, and he honestly wasn’t interested in dealing with some stuck up, snotty brats. His father had to threaten to take him off patrol before the teen finally agreed to it.

He was both pleased and surprised after a few video calls with Ms. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The teen had gotten straight to work and was surprisingly organized. He found her to be rather quick on the uptake and very resourceful. She continued to stun Damian with a rather amazing mind that could think up plans rather quickly when life threw wrenches in their plans.

Not only was she quick, but Marinette was  _ sweet _ .

There was no other way Damian could put it. She seemed to pick up on his bad moods, and at times, she actually offered him some pretty solid advice from the very little Damian was telling her. She never asked for  _ anything _ in return for her services. She would just smile at him happily and tell him she was glad she could help. She was  _ genuine _ in ways Damian hadn’t experienced much before. Even living with his father, Gotham wasn’t exactly the most friendly place in the world.

But Marinette seemed to want to help people out of the  _ goodness _ of her own heart, not to gain something over those she assisted.

Even when it hurt her...

Damian had only admitted to himself that he was hooked shortly before their arrival...when she positively squeaked in excitement at the sight of Alfred the Cat. While Damian had been annoyed at Alfred the Cat taking up all his view, Marinette had switched into French and was  _ baby-talking _ the little monster.

Watching her coo over his cat had made his heart clench.

She was too cute.

He wouldn’t let those imbeciles she called classmates hurt her on his watch.

The black haired teen put on his best Batglare when a blond kid walked over to them. He had a deep frown on his face as his green eyes looked between him and Marinette. A look of pure jealousy crossed the blond’s face as he realized Marinette was snuggled up in this stranger’s coat. He got in front of Damian, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.

“Who are you, and why are you holding Marinette?” he demanded.

“Damian, her long-distance boyfriend,” he snipped back, noting how that drew the attention of the crowd following him.

“Marinette doesn’t have a long distance boyfriend!” the blond pouted. “She’s in love with me!”

“She’s not in love with you,” Damian growled.

The girl wearing Marinette’s coat chose to grab onto blondie’s arm at that moment. Damian felt his instincts scream at him to tear that coat off her body and beat her, but he stayed still. He didn’t want to wake Marinette up after all...she’d looked so tired, and she’d mentioned she didn’t do well in the cold...he’d ask more about that later.

“Adrien, can’t you see! She’s just using him to make you jealous! Marinette  _ would _ do something like this, after all, she forgot her jacket on purpose just so you’d give her yours—”

“Bull-fucking-shit,” another voice snarled. “You stole that coat from Cakepop, and I’m suggesting you give it the fuck back,  _ now _ .”

Damian bit back a shit-eating grin when  _ Jason _ of all people stormed up to them. The black haired man seemed to be  _ seething _ with rage, bundled up tightly in his heavy motorcycle jacket and combat boots. The scowl on his brother’s face suggested that Dick must have called him to help them out.

If Damian thought he was hooked by Marinette, then Jason had been  _ enthralled _ by the tiny Parisian girl in a matter of  _ days _ . Damian personally blamed the cookies she’d given them as a thank you for hosting her class. Jason had begun to treat her like he treated Alfred, with respect and as much affection as Jason Todd was capable of showing another human being. Jason thought Marinette was an absolute sweetheart, and flat out told Bruce that if anything happened to Marinette’s family,  _ he _ called dibs on adopting her.

“Cakepop?” Adrien asked, his tone growing annoyed.

“Yeah, Cakepop. Marinette? Your class president? The girl who almost  _ froze _ because none of you have a goddamn brain cell, and Sausage Hair’s a lying bitch?” Jason snapped.

“Shhh! Todd! Not so loud! She’s asleep,” Damian hissed, feeling her stir a little in his arms. “Where’s Grayson?”

“Pulling up the car. You go meet him, and I’ll get Cakepop’s coat back.”

Damian was tempted to agree before he remembered the exhausted look of disapproval he’d gotten earlier from Marinette.

“Todd, don’t do anything. Marinette doesn’t want us to...but do you think you could grab a hot cocoa for her? It might help warm her up.”

Jason looked outraged for a moment before Damian winked at him. Jason, knowing Damian clearly had a plan, clenched his fists and growled that Dick was waiting nearby. While he stomped off to go get hot cocoa, Damian took his chance to stand up with Marinette in his arms.

He began to walk away from her idiot classmates as they watched Jason, clearly scared of the older man. Damian continued walking away despite the blond’s yelling at him to bring Marinette back. He then was told that the Parisians would be calling the police to report that Marinette had been kidnapped if he took another step. Damian just smiled to himself before shouting, “Go ahead! My dad knows the Commissioner.”

For once, Damian felt relieved to see his eldest brother, who was casually leaning on their car.

“Is she alright?” Dick asked, worry clear in his blue eyes as he saw Marinette fast asleep.

“I think so...she mentioned getting really exhausted when it gets cold out...I think she may be anemic? A girl from her class stole her winter jacket, so Marinette hasn’t had a coat all day,” Damian said, gently placing Marinette in the car after his brother opened the door.

“She  _ stole _ Marinette’s jacket?!”

“Yeah, and had the goddamn gall to  _ wear it _ . Jason’s getting her hot cocoa. Oh, and call father and tell him to call Gordon. One of her asinine classmates accused me of kidnapping her, so they might call the police.”

“Jesus—”

“That’s not all, Dickieboy! They’re now debating on whether or not he is Marinette’s long distance boyfriend, and we all know how the tabloids are going to react when they hear that,” Jason said, walking over to his brothers with a hot cocoa. “Why didn’t you let me take the coat back anyway, Demon Spawn?”

“Simple, the longer she has it, the more evidence we have that she’s the thief,” Damian smiled. “I didn’t want her getting rid of the jacket or any of Marinette’s belongings so that way it can be proved that they’re in  _ her _ possession.”

“Fair enough,” Jason shrugged. “Are we taking Cakepop home with us?”

“Yup,” Dick interrupted. “Bruce already cleared it with everyone he needs to. Alfred and Tim are getting what they can from her hotel. Cass is already collecting evidence of bullying, abuse, and neglect on the teacher’s part. She seemed very upset that someone was picking on the nice girl who makes Damian act like a normal person.”

Damian sighed, but he didn’t bother fighting that statement. Cass had been the only other person to meet Marinette over the video calls multiple times before meeting her in person. Cass had seen how he reacted to her, and she probably knew how he felt about Marinette. There was no denying what Cass saw either, so it was best not to argue. If he did, and Dick told their sister, he was almost certain the dark haired teen would pull out all the receipts she had of him being soft towards her.

He slid into the back seat, suppressing a shudder from the chill, as he shut the door.

He could handle it, so long as she was warm.


	8. Day 8: Wind- College!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a follow-up from one of last year's Daminette December prompts that I wrote-- Day 1: Just Friends.
> 
> Damian realizes that perhaps Marinette is a little more than a friend.

He never thought she could look more beautiful.

Life had a funny way of surprising Damian Wayne though.

_ How can she be so breathtaking? _

Most people looked like a hot mess when the wind decided to blow as hard as it was, but apparently those rules did not apply to the Parisian woman currently laughing as she pulled him along. Her black hair was being pulled out of her buns, whipping around her heart-shaped face as the rain and wind battered their faces. Her sundress, a soft pastel pink, was flapping in the wind, but it didn’t seem to detract from how lovely she looked in it. Her eyes, a grey-blue like the storm above them, flickered with delight and mischief.

They were running down the road, trying to reach a ledge or awning where they could seek shelter from the storm, if only for a moment. Damian could feel the water seeping into his clothes, and he was certain his shoes were squeaking from all the water. It felt like he was consistently pulling his hair away from his face, but the wind seemed determined to make sure it got  _ directly in his eyes _ . 

They finally found an awning to hide under a block away. Luckily one of the dorm buildings was close to the park where they’d been walking. She pulled him under it, which stopped the rain, but the wind continued to blow right through. His green eyes fixated on her face, falling even further in love with the woman currently holding his hand. He gently pulled her hair ribbons out, letting her dark hair fall down around her face. The wind tousled it, but Damian couldn’t think of a more perfect sight than the one before him.

She was smiling up at him with a grin that he considered his own personal sun. Raindrops dripped down her face, drawing his eyes to her smooth skin and the little freckles that adorned her face. She was  _ soaked _ , but the cloth sticking to her skin made Damian swallow hard. She had looked gorgeous in the dress when it was light and free-flowing, but now it  _ stuck _ to the curves of her body.

Her laugh was clearer now, and he could vaguely feel her small, surprisingly calloused hands fixing him up.

“Well, that’s not what I was expecting!” she giggled, gently smoothing out his hair. “But that’s what keeps things interesting, isn’t it?”

Damian nodded, his mouth feeling dry. He would have to send Dr. Lender a nice gift or something for being the reason he met this wonderful, wonderful woman. While they were no longer freshmen and didn’t have a lot of the same classes, Marinette had kept his number from when they shared that history class. She had continued to text him and send him animal memes throughout the day, and she’d even confided in him that her bad immune system was likely a result of her overworking herself and not eating properly.

That had resulted in Damian coming around more to make sure Marinette was taking care of herself. Alfred had supplied him with all he needed, telling him to let Miss Marinette know that she was welcome at the manor any time she felt lonely. Marinette’s roommate was stunned, being a native Gothamite, that  _ the  _ Damian Wayne was being so  _ nice _ to her. Her roommate actually started avoiding the apartment when she knew Damian would be over, stating that she did not wish to die because she saw Damian Wayne being  _ soft _ .

While it was true Marinette was still sensitive to getting sick, she was a lot healthier than when they’d first started talking to one another. Damian had realized the last time Marinette had gotten sick that perhaps his feelings ran a little  _ deeper _ than pure comradery.

He’d held her hair back for  _ hours _ , never leaving her or the toilet’s side unless it was to grab Marinette more water or to get a clean/re-wet the washcloth he was using to clean her face with. They suspected she’d gotten the stomach flu as it only lasted a few days, but those few days felt like  _ years _ to him.

Damian had been  _ haunted _ by how pale and  _ fragile _ she’d looked, hunched over the toilet, crying softly in between bouts of vomiting. She’d been trembling so much that Damian had had to hold her up. Marinette hadn’t wanted to move, but Damian remembered how  _ easy _ it had been to pick her up and maneuver her around to either the bathtub or the couch.

He then realized that the reason  _ he _ felt so terrible was that he didn’t  _ want _ Marinette to suffer. He was  _ greatly _ distressed by her pain and his inability to make it go away or fix the issue. That’s when he began to think that perhaps his pretty friend was something  _ more. _

And then there were moments like this...where he couldn’t believe this beautiful woman was choosing to stand right in front of him.

“How far away is your dorm building? We need to get you dried off as fast as possible,” Damian chose to say, gazing at her worriedly.

“Being out in the cold does not cause colds, Damian,” Marinette said, grinning. “We can still hang out while we wait for the rain to pass.”

“No, the cold and rain doesn’t cause colds, but it  _ can _ affect your immune system and some viruses thrive better in colder weather,” he responded. “I don’t want you getting sick again.”

She rolled her eyes, the wind once again, tousling her hair in a way that only complimented her pretty face.

Damian couldn’t help but chuckle at the pout that had formed on her face. Why was she so against going back to her dorm? She could have nice, clean, warm clothes on instead of standing out in the freezing rain? What was the downside?

“If I go back to the dorm, you can’t come,” Marinette said, crossing her arms. “It might be an apartment for the upperclassman, but my RA’s an asshole and will definitely get me in trouble for bringing a guy into my dorm. She just got dumped by her boyfriend last week.”

“Seriously, Malāki? You’d rather suppress your already delicate immune system just to spend a few more moments with me?” he asked, staring at her incredulously.

Marinette gave him a cheshire grin before nodding. She then stood on her tippy toes, pressing a gentle kiss against his cheek. Her adorable pout soon returned though as she grumbled about how they were supposed to be on a date, and she didn’t want it to be over yet.

Damian almost choked on air as he took in her words.

She thought this was a date?

Did that mean she liked him back?!

Upon seeing his shock, Marinette’s pout turned into a look of fear and concern.

“...do...do you not like me like that?” she murmured, tears welling up in her eyes. “Oh my God, I’m so sor—”

Not knowing what else to do, Damian crashed his mouth against hers, savouring the softness of her lips against his. He pushed against her  _ hard _ , trying to pour every bit of emotion that he had into a bruising kiss. He felt her  _ melt _ against him, throwing her arms around his neck. What was probably only a minute or so felt like a lifetime before they broke apart, gasping for air.

Green eyes met blue-grey as they stared at one another, breathing heavily.

“We’re not just friends,” Damian mumbled, using one hand to trace her cheek. “Not anymore./.I feel more than that towards you.”

Marinette smiled up at him, tears dripping down her face as she kissed him. This time the kiss was more gentle and calm then the first one. She rubbed her nose against his before saying, “I really,  _ really _ like you, Damian. More than a friend.”

“Me too...do you want to come back to my place? Alfred did say you were always welcome...and I’m sure I  _ miiiiiiiiight _ have some clothes that will fit on you. That way we don’t have to end our date early.”

He felt his heart skip at the bright grin on her face before she said, “Yeah, that sounds perfect.”


	9. Day 9: Book- College!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another College!AU, but not connected to any previous.
> 
> Marinette needs a goddamn study room.
> 
> Jon doesn't see a problem with inviting her into his and Damian's.

Marinette loved the campus library.

Except during test weeks.

The dark haired girl practically growled as she crossed the terrible beige carpet, looking into window after window to see if there was an open study room. The thud of her black boots began to grow as she grew exasperated, almost stomping her feet. She no longer cared if others stared at her because she was growing  _ extremely _ tired of seeing a  _ single _ person taking up one  _ large _ room!

There were several chairs in each room! There were two whiteboards! Why weren’t people getting together to study??? You don’t need that much space for one person! She was beginning to fume, just wanting to set her stuff down and get started on studying for her foreign language class!

After passing through several bookshelves, she spotted two guys going into a study room that had just opened up. She raced forward before tapping the closest guy on the shoulder. She felt her heart skip a beat as a pair of jade eyes stared down at her questioningly. He was handsome, a nice jawline and good cheekbones. His skin was a dark tan, and he had pitch black hair. His eyebrow was raised before she heard a deep baritone voice ask, “Can I help you?”

“Oh! Sorry! Uh, I was wondering if I could join you in your study room? I’ve been looking for one for the past hour,” Marinette began, trying her hardest to keep her voice from squeaking.

“Why can’t you study back at your dorm?” the guy asked as his friend elbowed him in the side.

“I can’t take the Arabic reference book out of the library,” Marinette answered. “I really need it for my Arabic final on Friday!”

His friend, a well-built guy with bright blue eyes and pitch black hair, got a shit-eating grin on his face as he said, “Arabic, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s a pretty widely spoken language, and I already speak French, English, Cantonese, and I’m proficient at speaking in Mandarin now, so I figured picking up Arabic wouldn’t hurt,” Marinette said, adjusting her grip on her backpack. “I’m doing fairly well, but I really need to study! It’s hard because I don’t have anyone to practice speaking with—”

“Damian’s actually fluent in Arabic!” the friend said, holding out his hand. “Hi, my name’s Jon! Mr. Grumpyface is Damian.”

“Hi! I’m Marinette,” she said, shaking his hand. “So would you mind if I joined you? I promise I won’t get in your way.”

“C’mon in, Nette! Damian and I were going to study for an art history test,” Jon said.

“Do I get a say in this?” Damian groaned.

“Nope!”

Jon let Marinette sneak into the room around him, placing her backpack down at the chair nearest the window. She needed to be looking at the back wall or else she’d get distracted by passerbyers. She began taking out her Arabic text book and her notes as Damian grumbled but entered the room. He sat down in the chair next to him, which surprised her. She watched Jon take the available chair across from Damian.

Marinette murmured to herself softly for a few seconds before taking note of all the books she needed. She turned her head to look at Jon and Damian before asking, “Hey, do you guys need any books? I’m going to grab some books.”

“Uh...it’s art history? I’m not sure—” Jon began.

“Basic information on clothes-making and fashion,” Damian cut Jon off. “It was the last unit we covered, and Dr. March said it wouldn’t be a cumulative test since it’s just an intro class.”

Marinette smiled brightly at the two of them before saying, “Lucky for you two, I know  _ exactly _ where those are!”

Damian and Jon watched the lithe woman dart out of the room, quietly humming to herself. As she left the room, Damian turned to glare at Jon.

“What were you thinking! Why did you let this woman join us in our study room?”

Jon rolled his eyes before saying, “You need more friends, Dames. Besides she looked exhausted from roaming around the library. You’ve gotta admit it, Dames, she’s a complete cutie and seems really nice!”

He rolled his eyes at Jon, but he silently agreed that she was at the least aesthetically pleasing. She was smaller than both him and Jon, probably only standing around five feet tall, maybe five foot one. She had dark black hair that was pulled up into a bun towards the base of her neck. She was wearing a red knit cap with a big pom pom on the top. The red hat went with her red knit gloves and scarf, which were also both knit. Her coat was an inky black and seemed to be well cared for. She was wearing a pair of light-wash jeans and black boots to finish off the look.

Her hair had been falling out slightly, probably due to the December wind, highlighting the pale freckles on her nose. She had slate blue-grey eyes that shone with excitement when Jon agreed to let her into the room. She had a bright smile, reminding him of Jon’s cheerful demeanor.

He glanced over at her notes and realized that Marinette had a very organized way of taking notes. Her handwriting was somehow...cute? Yet, her handwriting was perfectly readable, and he was actually impressed. The only thing he did not was that Marinette seemed to have difficulty  _ writing _ in Arabic rather than her understanding in the actual language. Her notes had proper grammar and examples of how to construct a sentence, but the way she shaped her letters was an issue. He grimaced slightly before looking back at Jon.

Jon had started looking over the notes for their history class. Damian opened his own notes, quickly starting to read over the timeline of textile fibers. He could feel a migraine coming on as he realized that neither he nor Jon had a complete timeline. There had been a few classes that both of them had missed, and no one had gotten them the notes. Damian rubbed his eyes before looking at the spot beside him.

_ Where was Marinette? _

He sighed before smacking Jon lightly on the head.

“I’m going to see where Marinette is...it’s been a few minutes.”

“Aww, you’re concerned!”

“Nonsense. She was supposed to be getting us books too, plus I need to tell her she’s writing ق and ف incorrectly. She needs to place the curve in the stroke in that first one and she needs to remember that the other one has a straighter stroke. The only way I can tell the two a part is because she added the proper diacritics!” Damian said, going towards the door.

Damian stuck his hands in his pockets after closing the door. He looked around the shelves, looking for the tiny woman. His brow began to furrow as he walked towards the history section of the library. He felt his heart begin to race as he failed to spot Marinette. How hard could she be to find?! She was one five foot tall woman! She was wearing a bright red hat! Where did she go—

There was Marinette, books strewn around her feet, backed up against the shelf. She looked  _ extremely  _ uncomfortable. Her arms were crossed tightly around her chest, and she appeared to be consistently shifting from one foot to another. She was blinking more frequently than normal and seemed to be looking away from the man in front of her frequently.

“C’mon, Mari—”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Mari, you don’t need to be like that—”

“I told you before, I don’t want you to call me Mari. I don’t know you. Please leave me alone,” Marinette said firmly.

Damian felt a sense of protectiveness well up in his gut as he realized who it was. It was Ryan Bennington. He was in a few of Damian’s business classes, and quite frankly, he was a  _ major _ asshole. The pieces fell into place quickly as he realized that Ryan was  _ also _ taking Arabic. He’d been trying to talk to Damian in some of the  _ poorest  _ excuse for Arabic to come out of someone on this campus’s mouth. He must have Arabic with Marinette...and Damian’s hunch was confirmed when the resource book she was likely looking for was in Ryan’s hand.

“Marinette? Did you find what you were looking for?” he asked calmly, bending over to pick up the books she must have dropped.

“Y-yeah! I just...the resource book,” she replied, swallowing hard.

“Tt, come along,” Damian said. “As Jon informed you, I’m fluent, so I can provide you with assistance. Now we should get going, Jon will be looking for us soon. Plus we need to finish that stupid fiber timeline—”

“Excuse me, Wayne,” Ryan hissed. “Mari and I were having a conversation.”

“And I believe that Marinette told you to leave her alone, and to not refer to her in a familiar manner,” he said firmly. “She is already preoccupied, so please leave so we can go—”

“What, are you fucking her, Wayne? Is she one of your who—” Ryan snarled, grabbing one of Marinette’s wrists.

A loud crack echoed across the library as Damian stood, open mouthed, as this petite woman punched him in the face with her free hand. Ryan slumped over on the floor, over the top of the book, clearly reeling from the blow. Her stormy eyes turned to look at Damian before asking, “You saw him put his hands on me, right?”

Damian nodded, still a little stunned.

Ryan stood a good head taller than Marinette, though he had been leaning forward a little bit to get in Marinette’s space, and she was  _ still _ able to clock him! She also had amazing form which led Damian to believe this was not the first punch she’d ever thrown. Which also led him to wonder just  _ who _ was squaring up with this tiny little woman on the reg?! She didn’t seem uncomfortable at all with the fighting, and she also seemed rather satisfied with herself until she remembered she had an audience in Damian.

“Okay, good. I should get in less trouble for punching him then...you can help me with my Arabic?” she asked, rubbing the back of her neck. “I don’t think I’m getting that book.”

“Yeah, I can help you. Honestly, the majority of your issues come from how you write the letters rather than a lack of grammar understanding.”

“Oh, well that’s good? At least I understand the basics? Um...what fabric timeline are you doing?”

“History of fibers, but me and Jon missed a few classes, so we’re missing some notes.”

“Natural or synthetic?”

“Synthetic.”

“In the US?”

“...I’m assuming?”

“Rayon in 1910, acetate in 1924, nylon in 1939, acrylic in 1950, polyester in 1953, triacetate in 1954, spandex in 1959, polyolefin/polypropylene in 1961, microfibers/ microdenier in 1989, and lyocell in 1993.”

Damian blinked in surprise before the petite woman shrugged.

“I’m a Fashion and Design student,” Marinette said. “It’s kind of my thing. Now what’s wrong with the way I write?”

Damian smiled softly, laughed, and said, “Let’s get back to the study room, and I’ll show you how. That’s kind of my thing.”

As Marinette took the books back from Damian, he pondered his strange new acquaintance. At first he’d been mad at Jon for allowing a complete stranger into their study room. He had assumed she was going to be like every other girl who asked to study with them— attempting to flirt with them instead of actually trying to study. None of the girls before had actually  _ known _ what they were talking about when they said they could help, and most of them hadn’t  _ wanted _ to either.

But Marinette had literally just listed off a whole timeline of synthetic fibers without a textbook when he asked.

Damian followed Marinette back to the study room where Jon was waiting for them, thinking of how full of surprises this woman was.

“There you guys are! I thought you got lost!” Jon said, winking at Damian. “Anything interesting happen?”

“Not much, just getting some books,” he said, taking his seat beside Marinette. “Now hand me your notebook.”

Jon couldn’t help the snort of amusement that came out of him as Damian scooched close to Marinette and began pointing out the issues in her writing.

Just getting books?

Sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know that these may be running behind for a while. My partner's father and sister got COVID, and things are very stressful right now. Neither or them are sick enough to go to the hospital, thankfully, but they're still rather sick.
> 
> Stay safe! Wear a mask! Wash your hands!
> 
> -Kan


	10. Day 10: Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a follow up to Day 7: Chill!
> 
> The aftermath of Damian coming to the rescue.

He couldn’t help the smile on his face as Cass video called him from the hotel.

While he wished he could be there with them, Damian was also currently satisfied with his position. He was laying on the couch with Marinette curled against his chest, still fast asleep. He had one arm wrapped around her middle. She had warmed up a bit, thanks to their combined body heat and the blankets that Alfred had provided them, but she still showed no signs of waking.

Cass was with their father, who was currently talking to the receptionist at the hotel Marinette and her class was staying at. Officer Montoya and Detective Bullock were also there interjecting questions to both the receptionist and Bruce and writing down what they deemed important information. Bruce had been talking to the receptionist to see if the hotel had given them the safety packets Wayne Enterprises had put together for the foreign class, as well as asking if all of the safety measures had been implemented for their arrival.

The poor, haggard-looking receptionist had answered yes to everything, but she had then snapped that she couldn’t control what ‘that pathetic excuse for a teacher’ does. The brown haired woman, who’s name tag read Amy, then went on to explain how she and several other receptionists had given Marinette maps and called cabs to ensure that the young lady got to her destination safely. Amy was currently airing her grievances to Bruce, as a few of the students had apparently been a nuisance. 

“Seriously Mr. Wayne, this teacher constantly complains about how we don’t have the right brand of ginger ale or can’t change something in the room due to policy to meet ‘accommodations’ for a student, who frankly, doesn’t have any accommodations in her file!” Amy groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “And yet, that sweet little girl has been coming in and out of this hotel,  _ by herself _ mind you, and has shown more maturity and dignity. The staff have started referring to her as ‘our guest’ because we feel like she’s  _ ours _ .  _ We’re  _ the ones making sure she’s returning to the hotel.  _ We’re  _ the ones who make sure she eats before leaving.  _ We’re  _ the ones providing her with safety tips and passageway to her classmates when that  _ should _ be her teacher’s job!”

“So what you’re saying, Miss—?” Detective Bullock began.

“Orville, Amy Orville.”

“— Miss Orville, that you have seen Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng leave the hotel and return to the hotel completely unaccompanied?”

“Yes.”

“And her teacher never asks about her?”

“No. In fact, a few of her classmates laugh about leaving her behind. Funny enough, we were just about to call the police seeing as Marinette didn’t return when her class did. Not to mention the string of theft one of our security personnel spotted.”

“Theft, Miss Orville?” Officer Montoya asked, a frown fixed firmly on her face.

“Yes, officer. It appears that during our shift change, someone has been breaking into one of our guest’s rooms. According to our night shift security guard, the perpetrators are seen leaving with the guest’s items in hand.”

“Montoya, go take a look at that footage while I continue my chat here,” Bullock said, turning his attention towards Bruce. “And you had no idea she was being left behind?”

“Not until my son contacted me, no,” Bruce said with a grimace. “I specifically created safety packets, which Miss Orville has reported were handed out, indicating that it was pertinent to the safety of everyone to do headcounts and ensure that no one is left behind. It stressed several times that, while this hotel is within the wealthier side of the city it doesn’t stop crime and to be extremely careful. You know how seriously I take this, Detective.”

“Don’t take it personally, Mr. Wayne, I gotta ask everyone these questions. I know you try and run a tight ship when it comes to them kids. So Miss Dupain-Cheng is in your care as of now?” Bullock asked.

“Yes, I ended up calling her parents and asking them if they’d heard from their daughter’s teacher at all. When I told them that Marinette had been walking around a frigid city  _ without  _ a jacket on and telling my son people had been  _ stealing _ her personal belongings, they were appalled. They demanded to know what I was doing about it, and why the teacher hadn’t made them aware. I told them I didn’t know about the teacher but began telling them what I could personally do. We discussed an arrangement so that for the remainder of the trip, Miss Dupain-Cheng can remain with my family.”

“So the parents are aware?”

“Yes, and I have their number if you wish to contact them yourself.”

“Write that down for me, Mr. Wayne. Miss Orville, would you be willing to give us the contact information for anyone else who has had extended interactions with Miss Dupain-Cheng?””

“Yes, detective, I can do that,” Amy responded, smiling for the first time during this conversation.

Officer Montoya then reappeared with a man dressed in a security uniform.

“Hey, Bullock! I got the tapes. Looks like two teenage girls, and they’re definitely leaving with whoever is in that room’s personal belongings. We have faces, so we just need to identify them.Two of the housekeeping staff have said the girls are from the French class.”

The screen began to shake a little, showing Cass’s amusement at the situation as she zoomed in on the class. The two responsible parties' faces had paled the second they knew they were on video. It appeared they now knew there wouldn’t be any way to lie their way out of this. They were as good as done.

Damian began laughing as he watched Officer Montoya tear into Marinette’s teacher as the woman tried to defend her students, saying they would never steal anything and that the staff was lying. The look on her face when Montoya came back at her for accusing the staff when it seemed like she couldn’t even remember how many damn kids she had was hysterical.

“Da-Dami? What’s so funny? Where am I? I thought we were at the park.”

It took all his years of training not to jump at the sound. Instead, he looked down to see that Marinette had woken up. She was groggily staring at him, her grey-blue eyes glazed and confused. She appeared to be better now, with more pink in her cheeks, and the fact she was seemingly aware of what’s going on. She was still cold apparently as she tugged the blanket higher against her neck before absent-mindedly snuggling closer.

“My home. You fell asleep after I draped you in my coat. I was laughing because they have your thieves on the security tapes from your floor,” he said softly. “And they now know they have no way out.”

Marinette tilted her head in confusion.

“Damian, did you—?”

“Cass, actually. She was very upset that someone would try to hurt her sunflower,” he said, gently squeezing her. “So, she decided to do something about it. They won’t have the privilege of hurting you while you’re here...and I believe your family is currently having a  _ long _ talk with the school board about this. They’ll be lucky if they walk away with their freedom if your mother has anything to say about it. She truly is a terrifying woman to see upset, and I thought my mother was scary.”

“Maman knows?”

“Yes, and she was quite serious about contacting someone about your teacher. She was rather upset to hear your health had been put at risk. Depending on the laws, your teacher could be looking at losing her ability to teach or being charged with neglect.”

Marinette seemed to be shocked with this information. She blinked for a few moments before asking, “Don’t I have to go back to the hotel? What’s going to happen—”

“Nope, Father cleared it with your parents. You’re free to stay here until you’re scheduled a flight back to Paris. You’re free.”

Free?

Marinette really liked the sound of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far there's been no news on my partner's father and sister, which I suppose is good news. Sorry for the late updates, but things have been rough and stressful.


	11. Day 11: Snowglobe- Amaya Wayne!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian and Amaya get Marinette a gift.

“Abun, wha tha?”

Damian looked in the direction of the chubby baby finger to see a display. The table and shelves were lined with snowglobes of varying shapes and sizes. Some were Christmas themed. Others were based off of different jobs, such as police officers, nurses, doctors, etc. Others were simply themed based on activities or hobbies. The thing they had in common was that they were all brightly colorful, attracting the child’s attention.

The toddler in his arms bounced as she continued to chirp, “Abun, wha tha!”

“Those are snowglobes, Albi,” Damian said, adjusting his hold on her. “Do you want to look?”

“Yes! Yes! Maman sno-gobe?” his daughter asked, patting him on the chest.

“Do you want to get one for Maman? Do you think she’d like a snowglobe?”

“Sno-gobe!”

Damian laughed as Amaya continued to chirp the new word happily. He gently picked the smaller ones up one by one. He shook them, watching his daughter giggle as she stared at the snowglobes, entranced by what she saw. She tried to reach out a few times to get it, but Damian kept it safely out of her reach.

His green eyes were fixed on his daughter as she continued to clap and giggle happily. Her dark hair was barely visible, hidden under her pink hat. Her big green eyes weren’t currently looking at him, her attention being taken up by the bright objects before her. Her skin was slightly paler than his own, only being darkened on her cheeks and nose by the cold. She had the cutest little button nose and a bright smile on her face.

Damian felt his chest warm as he stared at the little child marveling something over so simple as snow globes. He had helped create this wonderful little human. He and the woman he loved more than life itself had created this wonderful, smiling, happy little girl. He never thought he could love another person more but from the second he laid eyes on their daughter, he realized that wasn’t entirely true.

Amaya finally settled on a snowglobe that was pink with a little snowfamily inside of it. The papa snowman was wearing a top hat and was holding hands with the mama snowman. The mama snowman was wearing a red scarf, much like Marinette liked to wear. The baby snowman was wearing a pink snowsuit and was standing in between the parents. They were holding the little snowbaby’s hands with each of their free hands.

“You like this one, baby? Should we get this one for Maman?” he asked.

“Yes! Maman sno-gobe!” she cheered. “Buy?”

Damian turned to the employee who was monitoring the stand before saying, “Excuse me? May we purchase this one?”

The employee smiled before calling another worker over. She explained that this woman would be able to take them over to the register. Damian nodded, handing the woman the snowglobe. This new woman smiled at them before gesturing them towards the register. She made casual conversation, asking them about the snowglobe.

Amaya cheerfully answered the woman, babbling about how the snowglobe was for her maman. The little girl told the brunette lady how her maman wears red scarves just like her maman. She also told her how she liked to wear pink, and how pretty the snowglobes were.

Thankfully the woman continued to smile and answered with coos and one-word answers. She was polite and rang up the transaction rather efficiently. She carefully wrapped the snowglobe up in bubble wrap before placing it into the bag. The kind woman handed Damian the bag before offering Amaya a candy cane. The toddler grabbed the candy cane excitedly before waving goodbye to the employee.

“Abun, open?” Amaya asked.

“When we get home, Albi. Maman will be mad if we ruin your appetite with candy, won’t she?”

The toddler got a very serious look on her face as she nodded. Maman had gotten mad on the day after Halloween when she found out that Abun and her uncles had let her eat lots of candy. She’d thrown up, and Maman had  _ not _ been happy. She’d yelled at her Uncle Jason for laughing, and then she yelled at Abun and her other two uncles as she rubbed Amaya’s back.

“Home?” she asked. “See Maman?”

“Yes, we’re going home to see Maman,” Damian said, kissing her nose.

————

Marinette was in the kitchen when they came home, pulling cookies out of the oven. Her hair was pulled back into a braid that draped down her back. She was humming a familiar tune as she settled the cookies on top of the oven.

Damian just stared at her for a few moments, taking in the sight of the woman he loves, before Amaya broke the silence.

“Maman! Maman! Abun show me sno-gobe! Sno-gobe so pretty, Maman!” she said, trying to wiggle out of her father’s grip.

Marinette turned to look at her daughter and husband before smiling broadly.

“You saw snowglobes? I bet they were really pretty, my little one,” she cooed as she walked over to them.

She gently plucked Amaya from Damian’s arms. Marinette plucked her daughter’s hat off of her head, releasing the wild black curls. She kissed her baby’s forehead as she helped her husband take Amaya’s coat off. Once she was free from her coat, the little girl wrapped her arms around her maman’s neck.

Damian gently removed Amaya’s boots and placed them off to the side. He placed the bag onto the counter as he stripped his coat and boots off as well. Once he was sure nothing was in the way, he returned to where Marinette and Amaya were. He gently walked over to them before wrapping them up in a hug.

He pecked Marinette on the lips, earning a noise of complaint from Amaya before she started to demand kisses. He then pressed a kiss to his daughter’s forehead. He listened to the combined giggles of his wife and daughter as he pressed kisses to their faces, feeling his chest fill with love. They were the lights of his life, and he couldn’t imagine his life without them.

“Abun! Show Maman!” Amaya said, once she was able to get a breath in.

Damian grabbed the bag and carefully unwrapped the snowglobe. He showed it to Marinette, carefully keeping it out of Amaya’s grip. Marinette smiled brilliantly as she began to coo over it, asking their daughter how she picked it out. As Amaya told her mother about their shopping trip, Damian gently placed the snow globe on top of their mantle in their living room.

By the time he turned around, Marinette had carried Amaya into the living room. They were still talking about the shopping trip as she waltzed over to Damian. She settled Amaya on her hip as she looked at the mantle.

“I love it. Thank you, Amaya and Damian,” she said, wrapping her free arm around Damian’s waist.

Damian hugged her back before kissing her sweetly.

“Anything for my love,” he said softly.

“Yay! Maman, ‘ike it!”

Damian and Marinette stayed like that for a few moments, simply looking at the snowglobe. Amaya watched as well, smiling happily at the snowglobe. She was happy her Maman liked the snowmen...after all the snowmen couple was just like her Maman and Abun...happy and in love.


	12. Day 12: Soulmate!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a continuation of last year's chapter 9, titled soulmates.
> 
> Damian needs to make one thing clear to Marinette.

Damian was still furious, even after Tim and Dick managed to herd Marinette’s class away from them.

The reason?

His soulmate was  _ sobbing _ .

It drew the attention of Jason and Chloe as well, their hearts darting out to snuggle against Marinette’s tear stained cheeks along with Damian’s. The dark haired girl was shaking with the force of her sobs, nearly falling back on her knees, but Jason kept her upright.

“Hey, hey, hey! What’s up, kid? It’s okay. Dick and Tim will make sure they leave,” he said.

“Yo-yo-you’re pro-pro-protect-t-ting me,” the girl responded, putting her hands over her eyes. “Tha-Tha-t-t’s the ni-ni-nicest th-th-thin-g an-an-anyone has ev-ev-ever d-d-done.”

Chloe growled, cursing repeatedly in French as she stomped over to Jason. She carefully maneuvered Marinette into Damian’s arms before grabbing Jason’s wrist. Her blue eyes were blazing with anger. There was a snarl on her lips as well, and Jason was taken back by the strength such a small girl had in her. Chloe only paused to look at Marinette to say, “Your new brother and I have some things to talk about. We’ll be right back, Minette. Damian, take care of her.”

Damian nodded in reply, pulling Marinette into a tight hug. He gently stroked the back of her hair, humming a tune he was certain that Dick had taught him. He let her cry, despite how uncomfortable it made him, remembering something that Dick told him. His brother had told him over and over that sometimes one just needed a good cry before things could be worked out. Perhaps Marinette just needed a good cry before she could tell him what was wrong?

Her heart had reappeared from her jacket, pressing itself against Damian’s. She was clearly searching for comfort, but he was uncertain of how to. Dick had been teaching him about how sometimes people found comfort in different ways after Jon had become upset with him. Damian had tried to apologize, but it had ended up making him even more upset. He was worried that he was going to make Marinette more upset than she already was. His eyes darted to his father who simply mouthed, “Keep hugging her.”

Marinette continued to sob for another ten minutes before they began to die down. By the time she was sniffling, Dick had returned (with tissues) as well as Tim. Tim seemed to be in shock at what was occurring, clearly amazed that Damian was allowing someone so close to him. Dick handed Marinette the tissues which she took with a watery ‘thank you’. 

“Malāki,” Damian asked softly. “What did you mean by that?”

She looked up at him before burying her face in his shoulder. She shook her head, slightly afraid of what her soulmate would think of her. Would he think she was weak? Would he think it’s her fault? Would he tell her the same thing Adrien did? Would he think she should have just let Lie-la go about her business to avoid being bullied?

“Marinette,” he said again, gently stroking her back. “Why wouldn’t your soulmates protect you? Why is that the nicest thing someone has done for you?”

She made a soft squeaking sound in reply, trying to hide in Damian’s chest now. She didn’t want to admit to him that people she trusted had broken her heart. She didn’t want to admit to the person who was supposed to be the most important person to her that some of her other soulmates had decided not to believe their hearts and turn their backs on her, scarring her heart. What would he think of her then?

“...you don’t have to tell me,” Damian whispered, still stroking her back. “But will you please look at me?”

Marinette turned her grey-blue eyes up to him. The obscenely vulnerable look in her eyes made him want to stab whoever hurt her in such a way. Damian wanted to say something, anything, to make that look go away. He wanted to reassure her that he wasn’t going anywhere.

He knew what abandonment felt like after all.

So he did the only thing he could do.

Damian thought of what Dick would tell him.

“Marinette, I’m not going anywhere unless you want me to,” he said, locking eyes with the girl. “I will go away, leave, pretend this never happened, but only if that’s what you want. You’re my soulmate one way or another, and I don’t want to cause you pain. I’m not perfect...but I will stay beside you if you say the word.”

He took a deep breath before pressing his forehead to hers.

“Chloe and Jason aren’t going anywhere either. I may not know her well, but she seemed very determined to keep you safe. I do know Jason, and he will give life and limb for the people he loves without question. He won’t leave willingly.”

“Is this what having soulmates is supposed to feel like?” she croaked, searching his eyes for the answer.

“I think so...though I don’t have many aside from my family, so I’m not sure I’m the best to ask.”

Marinette let out a watery laugh before hugging him tightly.

“I want you to stay,” she murmured, feeling exhausted after everything. “I want you to stay.”

“Then I’ll stay. Why don’t we get you somewhere nice and quiet where you can lay down?” Damian suggested gently. “I’ll stay with you there too, but a lot has happened in a short amount of time. You need to rest.”

As Marinette groggily nodded, Damian turned his attention towards Dick, who looked close to exploding.

“Can you please make sure Todd and Bourgeois aren’t plotting murder? Tim—”

“Already called Alfred. He’s on his way, and he’s rather thrilled you’ve found your golden heartmate,” Tim replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Just make sure someone gets in contact with her parents. I have no idea what that teacher will try to say or do—”

“I’ll worry about that, Tim. You focus on your work,” Bruce interrupted. “Besides, now that we know they’re golden heartmates, it’s only appropriate that I introduce myself to her parents. Damian, call and let us know if anything changes. Dick, I am putting you in charge of Jason.”

“Why me?!” Dick asked, throwing his hands in the air. “I mean, I was gonna check anyway, but seriously?”

“Because he listens to you.”

“Barely!”

“Just threaten to tell Alfred, Grayson,” Damian snorted, carefully scooping up Marinette to hold her princess style. “He’ll listen then.”

“Alfred?” Marinette asked in a small voice.

“Our butler who is more like our grandfather than anything,” Damian replied. “Alfred took care of Father when he was younger, and he helps take care of us. No one wants to disappoint ALfred. Not even Jason.”

Marinette smiled a little at that, which made Damian’s heart skip a beat.

If her smile was sweet looking when she was sad, he couldn’t  _ wait _ to see the genuine article. He bet her true smile would easily put the sun to shame. Alfred would love her right away, Damian could just tell. He was already ridiculously fond of her, and he’d only just found her.

For the first ten years of his life, Damian had been taught that soulmates were a burden to be removed. His mother told him they were nothing but trouble. His mother told him that soulmates were lies as if destiny really wanted people to be together, then they would never be separated...hearts would not break. She told him to harden his heart and stab the one who makes it gold without hesitation because they would stop Damian from achieving his goals.

Then Bruce and Dick stepped into his life.

Bruce showed him why his mother was so bitter to begin with.

Talia hadn’t been satisfied knowing that Bruce wasn’t her soulmate. Talia was angry that Bruce turned her down. She blamed the fact that their hearts did not turn gold when they touched for Bruce’s decision not to be involved with her. Talia chose to take that out on her son.

Dick was the one that showed him that while soulmates can hurt you, they also can bring comfort, love, security, and power to the person they’re connected to. Dick was the one to teach him fully about soulmates and explaining how they connected. It was Dick who told Damian it was alright to want things for himself, to not be what others expected of him. It was Dick who told him how  _ right _ it would be when he finally did connect with his soulmate.

Damian hadn’t been prepared for how  _ right _ the feeling of her in his arms was. All he wanted to do was bundle her and that poor pink heart up and let them know that they are loved.

And Hell, help those who got in his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And for all those wondering...yes, Chloe and Jason were plotting murder.


	13. Day 13: Trapped-Mer!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mer!Au
> 
> Damian finds something interesting when he goes to inspect the nets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mentions of myths that involve eating merpeople, non-graphic nudity towards the end

Damian just wanted to be left  _ alone _ . 

His brothers were driving him nuts! He didn’t care that there was a ball coming up, nor did he want to be a part of the planning committees. His eldest brother, Dick, had been ragging on him to help out with planning. Jason, his second eldest brother, had spent the past several days bitching to Damian about how trying to find all the flowers Selina wanted was near impossible. He could almost forgive his other brother because poor Tim wasn’t even  _ trying _ to piss Damian off. His third brother was just running all over the castle, trying to coordinate with multiple people, and nearly crying every time he bumped into someone.

Damian could almost forgive Tim except for he was the one who told Bruce that Damian was the only one who hadn’t been assigned a task yet.

Cassandra, his older sister, thankfully was nice enough to take over his task of organizing the kitchens. They had been keeping their plot covert since Cass wasn’t supposed to be doing  _ any _ of the planning. The ball was to celebrate Cass’s sixteenth birthday, but she had been told she wasn’t to lift a finger to help as this was one of their presents to her. Cass had become very upset, and Damian thought it was stupid not to have her involved since it was for  _ her _ birthday.

At least this way, Cass would get to decide what she ate on her birthday instead of anyone else.

However, that meant Damian had to do another chore to get Alfred to be complicit in their plans. Damian was sent to check the fishing nets as the chef’s apprentices had been reporting not getting as much fish as they used to. Alfred, being an older gentleman, did not want to risk walking along the rocky and uneven ledge where their traps were set up. He also told Damian that he wasn’t certain if some of the boys were taking fish and lying, so he couldn’t send them either.

Damian agreed, as this would not only get him outside the castle, but get him towards the water. None of his siblings would be looking for him there, and neither would his father or step-mother. It was a perfect solution to everyone’s problems...until he found the reason why some of the nets were empty.

He had heard the stories growing up. Every child raised by the coast had heard of the mysterious creatures that supposedly lurked beneath the depths of the sea. Some sailors told stories of how beautiful they were, their voices enchanting with looks ever so fair. Other sailors told of wicked creatures who lured young men in with their voices and then proceeded to drown them. The only constant in those stories was that these beautiful creatures appeared half-human on top and half-fish on the bottom.

Children were warned to stay away from the deeper parts of the ocean with claims that the merpeople would steal them away should they wander off too far. Other stories Damian had come across involved a variety of magics. At one time, a woman claimed her brother had been turned into a merman so that he could live with the mermaid who captured his heart. Another man claimed his wife had formerly been a mermaid who abandoned the sea to stay with him. His wife hadn’t denied it, simply blushing at him as he bragged about her being the fairest creature on both land and sea.

All in all, Damian had never believed in the fairy tales his mother told him as a child or in the powers his grandfather claimed they had.

But he couldn’t think of any other way to explain what was going on.

How had the other boys missed this?!

In the middle net was something entangled… something human-looking. He could see her head bobbing up and down as she thrashed, trying to break herself free. Had this girl never used a net before?! Didn’t she know she had to untangle herself first? How long had she been there? Had she tried and was now panicking? 

“Hold on! I’m coming to help you!” he called out not wanting to startle her further.

He raced over the jagged rocks as her head swiveled in his direction. As soon as she spotted him, her head dunked under the water. Damian increased his speed, fearful that a shark or other carnivorous fish had attacked her. When he came to the spot the nets were looped onto, he gazed down into the dark water.

At first he was worried she was gone until he noticed that some of the water flowed differently than the rest...and it was darker.

_ Hair _ .

Damian rolled up his sleeves and plunged his hands down into the chilly water, grabbing onto the net. He anchored his feet against some solid rocks before pulling with all his might. He could feel the net coming up as well as the struggle of something trying to keep it in the water. Despite all the tugs downward, Damian refused to give up. He was not just going to stand idly by and watch someone drown!

The tugging became weaker and weaker after what Damian would later learn was around a half and hour. His muscles were  _ burning _ , and he was breathing heavily as he finally pulled the bottom of the net to the surface...only to find she wasn’t  _ human _ .

No, the body lying on the rocks, ensnared in the net, was a  _ mermaid _ .

Her top half was pale with inky black hair falling to about the midpoint of her back. He could swear her hair had  _ blue _ highlights to it, and she had a red and pink shell accessory attached to her hair. On her right arm was a red metal band that created a swirling pattern at each end. Her breasts were contained in another piece of what appeared to be some kind of metal, this one black. Her gill slits were just below them on either side of her torso.

He couldn’t see her eyes, as they were shut, but she had a sweet looking face with a button nose. She looked  _ exhausted _ , but Damian’s focus wasn’t so much on that as it was the cuts and marks the net had left on her. Her arms were bloodied, particularly by the wrists, giving Damian a reason as to why she hadn’t untangled herself using her hands. Her torso didn’t seem as bad as her arms, but he could tell some of her gill slits were irritated by the redness to them.

Her other half was a sight to behold though.

At her waist, just where her legs would start, was a magnificent, dark ruby tail with splotches of ink black. Her fins were not very big or flowy, but were an almost transparent black. The splotches mostly covered the back of her tail, but there were little ones towards her front.

Her tail was, unfortunately, the most tangled up in the net. He could see where the net was rubbing off her scales and causing open wounds. Damian quietly hoped that the damage wasn’t too extensive. Losing her tail or permanent damage to any of her fins could spell disaster. What would happen to a mer who couldn’t swim?

He quickly pulled the hidden knife from his boot and began to cut away the net from the mer’s body, careful to avoid further cutting her. He had managed to free her arms and get the net away from her gill slits before the pretty mer opened her eyes. Even with them being groggy, Damian still felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw eyes as beautiful as the dark sea next to them, stormy in shade.

Mermaids truly were beautiful creatures Damian decided as she opened those petal pink lips to rasp, “Please...please let me go.”

Even in its weakness, her voice held his attention firmly, keeping him spellbound.

“Please...please don’t sell me. Let me go,” she pleaded. “Please, I don’t want to die! The legend isn’t true!”

Damian’s mind reeled as he remembered the legend his grandfather used to tell him over and over again.

It was once said that if you ate a piece of a merperson’s flesh, you would become immortal. It was why Damian’s grandfather never left the sea, constantly on the hunt for a merperson. He wanted immortality. He passed on before he could find one though, but Damian had heard rumors of others who’d claimed to have partaken in the flesh of a merperson. He knew that rumor was bullshit, however, because Jason had quickly run his blade through that opponent, killing them.

“Hey, hey! I’m not going to hurt you,” he said softly. “My name is Damian. I came down here because your struggle has scared away the fish we eat. Now try not to move. I need to get the net off your tail before it damages you permanently.”

The mermaid seemed like she wanted to say something, but then looked down at her tail...almost forlorn. She nodded hesitantly, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. It appeared like she didn’t want to watch Damian, so he quietly told her what he was going to do.

He felt a great wave of sadness wash over him every time she jumped when his hand would graze her tail. He kept talking to her slowly and softly, just loud enough to be heard over the crash of the waves against the craggy shore. He felt something warm in his heart when he realized she had become more relaxed as he got closer to her caudal fin.

Damian was fully prepared for her to throw herself back into the ocean once he’d cut the last of the lines loose, but she didn’t. She instead looked at him cautiously as if she were trying to read his very soul. Her fins twitched slightly, but other than that, it didn’t appear like she was in a hurry to get anywhere.

“You’re free. I promise that it’s not a trick. I’m the only human down here,” he said, seeing the anxiety in her eyes. “You’re not trapped any more.”

“...I am though.”

The mermaid grimaced as she made an attempt to move her tail. She looked close to tears before saying, “I can’t get in the water. I’m too injured to swim fast enough to outrun predators. The sharks will get me...or worse.”

“Worse?”

What could be worse than a shark?

“...I was separated from my group,” she said softly. “Injured as I am, it would be easy for another pod to lay claim to me and take me away...with or without my consent.”

“And if you stay here, you’re still in danger,” Damian sighed. “Because of people who believe in the legends that mermaids have all these magical powers. Isn’t there anything we can do?””

The mermaid got a thoughtful look on her face before murmuring, “One...but I’m not sure…”

“What?”

“Well...the magic wasn’t a total lie. We can’t do all the crazy things you humans say we can...but there is something in particular that we can do.”

“...okay then…”

“I don’t know if it’ll work while I’m injured, but I could try to shift into a human form. My main problem with that is that I don’t know how to walk on human legs...I’ve never had to do it before, but I’ve seen my grandmother do it!”

Damian was about to ask her what she meant as a bright light filled his vision. He snapped his eyes shut, groaning at the brightness. He waited for a few moments until he heard the mer’s soft voice go, “Oh dear...I’m not an expert on humans, but this doesn’t look very good.”

He turned back to her, only to snap his head in the other direction.

The mer had given herself a set of legs!

...which also meant she was now  _ naked _ from the waist down.

The dark haired teen steeled his nerves before turning back to look at her. He winced in empathy as he realized that she was more than correct. Her legs looked  _ torn up _ as if she’d been bashed across the rocky shore several times. There were bruises all over her new legs, and every time she tried to move, she would let out a whimper of pain.

“How am I supposed to walk like this?” she whined, abandoning her attempt to pull her knees to her chest. “Everything hurts.”

“You’re not,” Damian sighed. “Even a natural born human couldn’t walk on legs that hurt...which means you’re in luck. I know this might be hard, but can you take your adornments off? I have a plan to keep you safe.”

“Why?”

“Simple, I’ll give you my shirt— a shirt is the cloth that’s covering my chest. I’ll take you back to my home, which is literally up the hill from here, and claim I found you in the net. We’ll say you’re from a wreckage—”

“But I’m not—”

“Tell them that you have no memory. Boats unfortunately go missing all the time. It won’t be hard for people to assume you washed up, injured and without memory, especially with how bad you’re cut up. Your adornments mark you as a merperson though, so that’s why I want you to take them off. We have to convince people you’re human until you’re healed.”

“That’s not what I meant! I mean, why are you trying to help me?” she asked, fixing him with those stormy eyes. “The humans who chased me away from my family wanted to eat me. The next set of humans wanted to sell me to a side show. One even wanted to...to...I can’t say it! Why are you doing this! What are you trying to gain from me!”

Damian froze as he stopped to think.

Why was he helping her?

A voice familiar to his mother’s told him that she would be worth hundreds on the market. A voice that sounded like his father told him that she was a sentient being, not an item. His mother’s voice hissed back that she wasn’t human though. His father’s voice remained firm in the fact she’d shown Damian she was capable of feeling just like he was. His mother’s voice told him that he could have anything he wanted if he used the mer as a trading chip. His father’s voice told him that wasn’t necessary as they were wealthy enough to afford many comforts while there were others who could afford few.

In the end, Damian agreed with the voice that sounded like his father.

“I’m helping you because you’re scared. You begged me not to hurt or kill you which means you’re in danger. You said it yourself, you’re trapped on the rocks because of your wounds. If you come with me, then at least you’ll have a fighting chance to live, right? Because if I wanted you dead, wouldn’t I have just left you in the net?”

The mer’s eyebrows raised in surprise before she appeared to start pondering it over. After a few moments, she carefully slid her hair ornament and arm band off of her body. She then released the clasp, releasing her breasts from the strange metal.

Damian quickly stripped his shirt off. He helped her ease into the larger garment, and she seemed to marvel at the texture of it. Once he had both of her arms in, he instructed her on how to use the buttons of the front, trying to avoid staring at her bare breasts like some pervert. Once she was all buttoned up, Damian quickly gathered up the remains of the net, putting them farther inland so they could not be swept out to sea by the tide.

He then returned and scooped up the now-human passing mer before he realized something.

“I never got your name. You’re going to need a name I can introduce you by or else we’re going to be calling you ‘the girl’.”

The breath-taking mer looked up at him, eyes shiny with tears before mumbling, “Marinette.”

“Huh?”

“My name’s Marinette.”

“Okay, Marinette. It’s nice to meet you...I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you, okay? I will warn you though that my brothers and father...well they can be a little overbearing. They mean well, but you can ask my sister, Cassandra. They drive her nuts as she’s the only girl in the family, so sometimes they baby her...at least until she sends them flying in sparring practice.”

Marinette blinked slowly, trying to take in everything that he just said. She murmured something too quiet for Damian to hear before settling her head against his shoulder. As he walked back up the rocky shoreline, back up to the hill in which the castle rested on, Marinette fell into a deep sleep.

Damian was left alone with his thoughts and strange new feelings about the girl laying in his arms. She was warm in his arms, despite having just been out in the cold. The way she looked while she slept this time, peaceful and vulnerable, made him want to tear apart the men she was talking about earlier.

He didn’t know much about mers, and he knew even less about this one...but that wasn’t going to stop him. Damian was going to protect Marinette, whatever the cost may be. He had offered her protection, and until she was healed, he would not allow anyone to get too close to his little mer.

Well...he would probably tell Cass.

Especially since Cass knew more about girls by being one.


	14. Day 14: Heat-Naga!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naga!AU
> 
> Damian finds someone on his sunning rock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big shout out to my Discord peeps for helping me decide how I would decide the color of their tails.
> 
> For reference, Damian's coloration is based off the Persian Horned Viper, and Marinette's is based of the Many-Banded Krait.
> 
> Those are SNAKES, so take caution if you wish to Google them!!!!

Damian was exhausted after hunting all night long and having spent the week with his brothers. 

His plan was to go to his favorite sunning rock briefly before returning to his den. He had parted with his brothers a few miles back, each respecting that the other didn’t want them in their territories. Damian, especially, did not want his brothers in his territory right now as his brothers were currently losing their  _ minds _ .

Dick was going on about how he and Kor’i were getting their nest prepared for snakelets while Jason was ragging on Tim about not finding a breeding partner yet. Jason didn’t dare poke fun at Damian...but that was mostly due to Dick’s insistence that he was ‘still just a hatchling himself’. Jason had tried to tease him two years ago when he became of age, and Dick nearly put him through a tree. After that, Jason refocused his attention on teasing Tim about mates. He only teased Damian now about shedded skin he couldn’t quite get off his body without assistance. 

But that didn’t mean he wanted to hear  _ any _ part of their plans.

Nor did he want his other two brothers on his turf, looking for potential mates.

Tim had asked him once why he doesn’t look during this time of year, not teasingly or maliciously but with genuine curiosity. He had told his brother the simple truth. No female he’d come across had ever been worth fighting for. None of their scents had enticed him. None of them had been interesting enough to make Damian want to risk life and limb just to bond with them. He just didn’t see the appeal in fighting over such things if he didn’t even want to bond by the end of it all.

Jason lived for the fight, so that was why he set off to fight other naga for mates during this time of the year. He hadn’t bonded yet, but one could mate without bonding. A lot of other nagas (the same ones Jason was normally fighting) did the same thing. They would fight, mate, and then pack up and run off until next mating season.

Tim, while more like Damian, was constantly on the  _ search _ for love. He was continuously searching for the naga he would bond with, occasionally getting into fights over it. However, Tim still hadn’t found the one. After a bad string of attempted relationships with several nagas, Damian actually looked his brother in the eyes and said, “Stop searching before one of them kills you.”

The tan and brown banded viper was of the firm belief that he’d meet his destined mate someday. If not, then he wasn’t destined to have one. Damian was fine in his solitude, and he didn’t plan on changing that just to please his brothers or his father. He was fine just by himself. He didn’t need any—

Damian’s thoughts halted as he peered at the sunning rock that rested just above his den. It was a large, solid rock that heated up quickly and was in almost a direct line of sunlight through the tree branches. However, there was something  _ new _ added to his sunning rock.

Another naga.

Another naga was resting on top of  _ his _ sunning rock, currently resting if he was reading the breathing correctly. Their top half was covered by a hooded shawl, so all Damian could see was their tail, partially curled up under their body.

He felt a swell of anger fill his chest as he slithered over to the intruder. Who would dare enter his territory?! Couldn’t they smell him? Especially so close to his den! That was the place he slept, and the place where his scent should be strongest! So why was this stranger sunning on his rock, on top of his den?!

Damian slowed his ascent as soon as he got close enough to see the color of the intruder’s tail. He didn’t wish to wake them...yet. He wanted to have the element of surprise so that the intruder couldn’t try anything funny.  _ He _ was the dominant naga here, and  _ he _ would be the one asking the questions and kicking tail if need be!

He managed to slither up next to the sleeping naga, wondering if this one was stupid or dying. They hadn’t made a single movement to stop him, even though Damian knew he should be able to be sensed. He was practically looming over them by now!

Damian’s clawed hand reached out and ripped back the hood, resulting in a loud squeal of shock as the naga realized there was someone else there. He coiled around the invader, holding them tight before looking at the face of his intruder. He was shocked to see two very dazed looking blue-grey eyes looking at him.

“Who are you?! Why are you in my territory?” he hissed, looking over the new naga.

“Pl-Please, I’m just pass-passing through,” the naga gritted out. “I needed—”

“Just passing through? Like I haven’t heard that one before—”

“If...if I wasn’t hurt I would beat your ass,” the newcomer hissed, wincing violently as Damian tightened his coils. “I was running  _ away _ , and I don’t plan on stopping here. He’ll come after me eventually, so I need...I need to get away.”

Damian processed those words before loosening his grip slightly. Upon further inspection, he realized that this naga was a female around his age. She had dark black hair that was currently falling out of a rather intricate braided hairstyle. Her skin was pale, but Damian had a feeling it wasn’t supposed to be as pale as it currently was. Her face was bruised, indicating that more than likely she’d been in a fight. Her neck was bruised in the shape of hand prints, making Damian’s instincts itch to slaughter whoever put their hands on her like that.

Moving down, her shawl was a nice dark ruby red color that stood out vividly against her tail which appeared to alternate between a bright white and night-black bands of smooth-looking scales. He could see several gashes on her stomach and her waist, some of which looked like they could be infected...which would explain the hazy look in her eyes.

The most prevalent feature though, was the totem wrapped around her waist of two snakes intertwining with one another.

“You were to be mated and bonded today,” Damian said quietly. “But you fought it, didn’t you?”

The female naga slumped back down as soon as Damian unwrapped himself from her. She hissed curses at the sky before answering, “Yes, I did. I fought him. I won my freedom...but they were going to make me go through with it anyway, so I fought again and escaped my village’s territory. I...I just stumbled into here...I don’t know.”

Damian silently scented the air before a low hiss escaped his lips. Her scent was  _ mouthwatering _ . She smelled like the mice his mother used to catch for him as well as sweet smelling...like honey. His pupils dilated as he realized what that meant...she was his mate.

His father had told him of ‘true mates’, something his grandparents were and something Dick had found with Kor’i. True mates were supposed to be able to recognize each other by their scents  _ alone _ . A true mate’s scent would be like a siren song, driving one forward until the two naga met. His scent must have called out to her when she ran from her other bonded-to-be, leading her here to his den.

He lowered his body into a non-threatening stance before offering his hand to her. He couldn’t force her to stay with him, but he could try and convince her. What better way to start off than to offer to help?

————-

Marinette couldn’t believe her shit luck.

Out of all the naga, it just  _ had _ to be her, didn’t it?

One of the council member’s sons was looking for a mate this year after returning from a two-year trek into the outer territories of the village. The man in question had brought back many new flora and reported several potential territory breaches to the council. He had done such a fine job, that he’d been told he was allowed to select whomever he wanted (so long as they were of age) to be his bride and bonded.

The dark haired naga had known this man when he was just a boy, and she could admit that back then, she did have feelings for him. The other naga seemed so polite and friendly, but she quickly learned that she would not be first in his heart...ever. Neither would any other naga, if she were being honest. Adrien loved to travel out into new territories and look into the unexplored. He would never be able to settle down with anyone, let alone raise snakelets!

While it was true, Adrien had become more handsome in his ventures, building up muscle and confidence, Marinette was quite frankly over him. She couldn’t picture herself building a nest with him if he wasn’t even going to  _ be there _ half the time! And what of their snakelets? What kind of explanation would she give her children of why their father was always gone? Oh, father loves adventuring more than he loves you, so that’s why you’re always alone with Mommy?

Unfortunately, it seemed like Adrien had decided to finally return her interest in him.

Adrien, with a bright smile, had chosen Marinette as his mate and bonded, stating how he’d need such a strong and confident naga to raise their snakelets while he was gone. Marinette had immediately challenged the choice. When some of the council tried to tell her she couldn’t, Elder Fu had simply stood up and told the council to shut their mouths. He brought up that several chosen partners had challenged before, and that Marinette should be able to challenge Adrien, to prove himself either worthy or unworthy to be her mate.

Adrien and Marinette had been led to the challenge circle at the edge of the village. There were only two conditions within the golden circle. The challenge is only over if someone steps outside of the circle...or it ends when one opponent is dead. Adrien had smirked at her, taking out his own daggers before asking Marinette if she wanted to reconsider. Marinette had responded with a cold ‘no’, whipping out her own blades.

He may have gotten stronger, but Marinette had always been the faster of the two.

She had struck quickly, and with fierce accuracy, digging her blades into the flesh of his right side. She had managed to dodge most of his blows, getting hit a handful of times before slashing at the underside of his tail. She had relied on his lack of maneuverability to be his downfall, giving her the advantage of being able to push a full-frontal assault without much risk of injury. She had kept up the tactic of dodge and swipe, dodge and swipe, forcing Adrien back onto his own tail.

Adrien had lost by raising himself so high up on his tail (to avoid Marinette’s knives) that he toppled himself out of the arena. Needless to say, his father had been  _ furious _ . He had insisted on her mating with his son. He had seized her by the neck, forcing her to hold still as they draped her in the customary garb. What they hadn’t expected was for Marinette to  _ swing on the council member _ .

She had embedded her one dagger into Gabriel’s arm, forcing him to release her.

Others had tried to stop her, but Marinette was one of the fastest naga in her clan. Only her former friend, Alya, had been able to keep up with her. She had managed to land a few blows of her own, leaving Marinette with the wounds across her middle and waist. Marinette had just managed to squeeze past her, slipping out into the woods. She had started slithering as fast as she could, not thinking of where she was headed. The clan would not accept her back lightly, if at all. Going back would mean she would have to mate with Adrien and remain in an unhappy bond. She couldn’t stay.

So, she traveled until she felt she couldn’t move anymore.

Marinette had then collapsed on top of a sunning rock that was beginning to catch the warmth from the now rising sun. She knew the sun would warm that spot up perfectly, so she had coiled up and fell asleep. She had no idea how long she’d slept before she felt her hood being torn away from her head and her body being wrapped in someone’s tail.

She had let out a squeal of pain and surprise as the movement jostled her injuries.

“Who are you?! Why are you in my territory?” a male voice hissed.

“Pl-Please, I’m just pass-passing through,” she gritted out, her sides burning. “I needed—”

“Just passing through? Like I haven’t heard that one before—”

“If...if I wasn’t hurt I would beat your ass,” she hissed, wincing violently as the other tightened his coils. “I was running  _ away _ , and I don’t plan on stopping here. He’ll come after me eventually, so I need...I need to get away.”

This made the other naga fall silent, loosening his grip on her lightly. Now that the other naga wasn’t being aggressive, Marinette’s hazy mind finally focused on the newcomer.

He had a handsome face. Sharp angles, tanned skin, and a pair of beautiful jade eyes adorned his face. He had ink black hair that was spiky in certain places, and his tail was a beautiful tan with stripe-like patches of darker browns. His scales ended in more of a sharp point as compared to her completely smooth scales.

She watched his eyes widen a bit as he took in her appearance before he spoke again. 

“You were to be mated and bonded today,” he said quietly. “But you fought it, didn’t you?”

Marinette slumped back down as soon as he unwrapped himself from her, her body throbbing in agony. She threw her head back, narrowing her eyes at the gods above. She hissed curses at the sky before answering, “Yes, I did. I fought him. I won my freedom...but they were going to make me go through with it anyway, so I fought again and escaped my village’s territory. I...I just stumbled into here...I don’t know.”

A low hiss came from the male, and Marinette’s hazy mind could only think of it as a threat. She coiled herself up tighter, trying to make herself smaller. She was too injured to beat the stronger naga, so her only real defense would be to try and make herself as tiny as possible in the hopes he wouldn't see her as a threat. 

Her blue-grey eyes flickered up at the stranger, noting how his body language had changed  _ drastically. _

His body was lowered, and it appeared he was trying to make himself seem smaller as well. His spiney-looking scales weren't as puffed out, making his outline softer. He also had his hand outstretched, offering his assistance.

"What's the catch?" Marinette growled, not trusting the strange naga.

"Your company," he responded. "I clean up your wounds, and you simply provide conversation."

"That seems very simple...a little too simple."

"It is that simple. My name is Damian."

Marinette thought over her options. She already was in pain and getting sick. She wouldn't be able to hunt if she got too sick. She also wouldn't be able to fend off anyone else, considering the sickness has not only weakened her body, but her sense of smell as well. 

She knew the other naga was strong just by looking at him...perhaps staying with him could benefit her in the long run. Her clan wouldn't infringe on his territory, not with what she could smell days ago. 

His clan was strong. 

Stronger than hers could hope to be.

"Fine…but this doesn't mean I'm agreeing to bond with you!" she said, eyes narrowed into slits.

Damian laughed before giving her a grin that made her breath catch. 

"And they say us vipers have an attitude. Whatever you say, little krait."

Marinette took his hand, allowing Damian to pull her up. She was surprised when he simply held her up and let her rest her weight against him instead of just picking her up off the ground. She hissed quietly as he led her to the entrance of his den, pain flaring throughout her body. She kept her posture slightly tense, prepared to do what she had to to protect herself. 

As she entered the den, Marinette was shocked to realize that this naga lived  _ alone _ .

The den was well managed with a pile of furs and other soft materials towards the back of the den to make a nest. There was no clutter, and his weaponry clearly looked taken care off. He had a small area in which he cleaned his bigger kills for their fur, and it seemed like there wasn’t much out of place.

Why would such a strong naga be alone?

Marinette didn’t have much time to think about it as Damian gently guided her into the nest. Among the furs, she felt comfortably warm, and she was still oh so tired. She struggled to keep her eyes open before she heard Damian murmur, “You can rest. I’ll take care of you.”

Still uncertain, but too tired to fight, Marinette found herself drifting off as he began to take care of her wounds, warm and feeling somewhat safe for the first time in days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking around. I've been having a hard time staying motivated at the moment to write due to the current goings on, but I'm getting through it. My partner's dad and sister are still at home sick, but they haven't needed to go to the hospital which is good. My job recently had a COVID-scare, but everything is okay, so I'm feeling a little better after that. Once again, thank you for your continued support, it's greatly appreciated.


	15. Day 15-Cats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tried something a wee bit different...here's a one-shot from Alfred the Cat's point of view.
> 
> Alfred the Cat notices his human is unhappy with not having a human mate.
> 
> So he decides to fix this atrocity.

Say what you will about cats, but this particular black and white tomcat wasn't just  _ any _ cat. 

No, he was Alfred the Cat.

He was an expert judge of character, thank you very much. 

He'd noticed his human was rather stressed out. His human had been stressed out before, but this was different. There was a tenseness to him that even he and Titus couldn't relieve, despite their best attempts to do so. 

Alfred the Cat had noticed how his human watched the other, barely tolerable, humans and their mates. These were the times he noticed that his human would become more upset. If too many of the mated pairs were in the room, his human would leave and seek out Titus or himself for company. 

After observing this several more times, and talking to his fellow house pets, Alfred the Cat had decided his human's problem was that he was lacking the human companionship a mate offered.

All the pets in the house had agreed that not just  _ anyone _ would be good enough for their human. Their human was  _ special _ , so he needed a human just as great as he was! They needed to find a human who would have a kind enough heart to match the heart their human had. They also needed someone who would be patient with their human like they were. 

They loved their human, but he could be delicate and emotional. Alfred the Cat wanted to ensure the mate they found for him was just as patient and good natured to deal with him. One with a backbone wouldn't hurt either, but Alfred the Cat wasn't asking for a  _ miracle _ .

That being said, Alfred the Cat had devised a plan to find his human a mate. He had decided to go out into the streets to see if he could find someone worthy of his human. There had to be one out there, if Alfred the Cat remembered right, the streets were always flooded with people. 

So one snowy night, the black and white tomcat darted out of the manor and headed towards the city, ignoring his human's shouts for him to come back.

———

He couldn't believe how  _ domesticated  _ he'd gotten while living with his human. 

The black and white tomcat limped slowly out of a pile of crates, hesitantly looking around for the humans who had been throwing bricks and rocks at him.

Alfred the Cat had forgotten how  _ cruel _ humans could be to creatures they deemed lesser to themselves. His human was  _ never _ like this and would never hurt an animal!

His fellow humans didn't count, and Alfred the Cat agreed.

He was shivering now from how cold the December snow was when he heard a soft voice call out to him. 

His yellow eyes locked onto a human who was kneeling in the snow. She was wearing the thick layering that he'd seen his human put on to keep out the cold, but unlike his human, she was small. She had one hand outstretched, palm out. She hadn't made any other moves to touch him, so Alfred the Cat decided this human may be tolerable. 

"You poor thing. Don't worry, I scared off those kids who were throwing things at you. You're safe now. Are you all alone out here too?"

Alfred the Cat paused, seeing something in her eyes.

Sadness.

Loneliness.

Distress.

But above all?

Kindness.

The things he saw in his human were reflected in this one.

Alfred the Cat limped forward, giving her palm a few cautionary sniffs. The human never moved a muscle, waiting for him to make the first moves. The human only began to pet him after he butted his head against her palm a few times. 

She smelled like bread and sweet things, and she seemed to have no ill intent towards him. Alfred the Cat wondered if his human would like the sweet scented human's gentle pets. He most certainly found her tolerable.

He allowed the human to scoop him up into her arms. She was gentle with his front left leg, which had been the one that was injured, cooing softly at him as she tucked him into her jacket. He purred at the warmth of the human and her soft petting, finding that he quite liked this human. 

"Let's get your leg checked out, hm? You look too well taken care of to be a stray…I wonder if your owner knows you're out here," the human mumbled, stormy blue eyes glancing around. "You don't have a collar though…"

Alfred the Cat continued to purr happily as the young woman carried him along the snowy Gotham streets. He didn't even claw at her when she walked into a building filled with sick and injured animals, based on what he could smell. He stayed put, purring to try and relieve the human's anxiety. 

"Excuse me? My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and I was wondering if your office had time to squeeze in an appointment? I found some children throwing rocks and bricks at this cat, and I think they broke his leg," the human gushed, as if she couldn't get the words out fast enough. "He's pretty docile, and seemed to be better fed then a lot of the strays, so could you also check to see if he's microchipped? I think he's got an owner, but I'm not sure because there isn't a collar—"

"Miss, we don't have time—" the irritated receptionist began. 

"Don't have time for what?" a smooth voice interrupted.

Alfred the Cat turned his attention to the familiar voice and meowed as loud as possible. The other more tolerable human was here! He saw this human, with short black hair and bright green eyes with his human's sire. Aside from his human, she was one of the ones he liked being around. She knew how to give wonderful pets, and she snuck him treats!

"Miss Kyle! I didn't know you'd be in today," the receptionist said, having the decency to at least look a little sheepish. "This young lady—"

"I have a hurt cat," Alfred the Cat's new favorite human interrupted. "I don't think he's a stray, despite having no collar, and I think his leg is broken."

Selina took one look at the cat before a relieved smile crossed her face. She gently scratched Alfred the Cat behind an ear before beginning to lightly scold the cat.

"So this is where you ended up, huh? Getting hurt and picking up ladies, Alfred? Damian’s been worried sick about you. What's your name, sweetheart?" 

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Miss Kyle," she answered, gently transferring Alfred the Cat into Selina's arms.

Alfred the Cat let out a disgruntled meow at losing his wonderful heat source, but stayed in Selina's arms. He watched as the dark haired girl put a number into her ringing box according to Selina's instructions. He knew that the ringing box would bring the other humans, so his human would meet the sweet scented human!

It was almost enough to keep him from clawing at the human who carried the sharp poke thing.

Almost.

—————

The next time Alfred the Cat woke, there was a heavy weight on his leg. While it no longer hurt, the additional weight was not exactly welcome, and he loudly expressed his distaste.

“Well, if you didn’t want to have a cast, then you shouldn’t have run off,” a familiar voice scolded him.

Alfred the Cat looked up to see his human’s green eyes glaring at him. He could tell his human was upset and scared but also relieved to see him. He blinked at his human before feeling a softer, more delicate hand begin petting his ear. A quick scenting told him that it was the sweet smelling human!

Alfred the Cat tilted his head so she could have better access, ignoring the look of shock on his human’s face. He then meowed at his human, looking from him to the sweet smelling one, trying to get his human to talk to her.

“I’m glad the nice lady at the front knew your number,” the sweet smelling human said, still petting Alfred the Cat’s head. “It would have been a pity if such a sweet cat was thrown into the shelter.”

“Sweet cat?” his human asked, his tone laced with disbelief.

“Yes?” she replied. “I held my hand out, and once he sniffed it, he just started demanding pets? He let me pick him up and carry him here without any biting or scratching. I think he was just happy to be warm and taken care of.”

“He let you pick him up  _ without _ trying to take your fingers off?”

Alfred the Cat let out a mewl of resentment towards his human. He wasn’t  _ always _ that terrible! He was perfectly nice to his human’s sire’s mate! His ears twitched as the sweet smelling human laughed at that.

“I think he’s insulted you’d call him anything but sweet.”

“I think he’s a little terrorist who tried to take my fingers off when I first found him.”

“Well of course! He wasn’t domesticated then, were you Mr. Alfred?”

His human’s green eyes were fixed on the sweet smelling human as she continued to defend him as a sweet kitty cat. He could tell his human was intrigued by her, but he also seemed apprehensive. Alfred the Cat could smell his human’s anxiety, so he batted his good front paw at his human’s sleeve.

Once he had his human’s attention, he began scolding him from holding back even though he knew the human wouldn’t understand him. His loud meowing echoed around the room they were in, but that did not deter him from making his complaints known. 

This made the sweet smelling human laugh even more before she asked, “Is he always this vocal?”

“Not normally.”

“Ah, maybe he’s telling you about those kids I saved him from.”

“What kids?”

“...did Miss Kyle not tell you? There were these kids throwing rocks and some bricks at the strays who were around. Mr. Alfred here got hit, and they broke his leg. I ran the kids off, and I brought him here. Miss Kyle gave me your number to let you know your cat was here, and here we are.”

His human’s face went through several emotions at once. He could see his human’s anger, fear, distress, and gratefulness. Thankfully, his human decided to pick gratefulness instead of taking out misplaced anger on her.

“Thank you, Miss—”

“Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she answered with a grin. “I’m glad your cat is all right. It’s clear how much you love him, Mister—”

“Damian.”

The sweet human, Marinette, just gave him a warm look before she responded, “It’s very nice to meet you, Damian.”

And his human, Damian, began to  _ melt _ at the pure sunshine that came from the sweet human, quietly making small talk with her.

Alfred the Cat purred in satisfaction, glad to see his human warming up to the sweet one. He knew that this human would be good for his! He couldn’t wait to tell the others that he’d found a human mate for their human.

After all, he, Alfred the Cat, was an  _ excellent _ judge of character.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Happy New Years! I'm glad you all have stuck with me during this difficult time. I'm going to try and pump out as many of these as I can now that December is over. Wish me luck, and I hope everyone's holidays were bearable if not excellent!


	16. Day 16: Royalty: Mer!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of day 13- Trapped of this year.
> 
> Warnings for this chapter include: Mentions of non-consensual touching (not graphic, but still there), mentions of the cannibalistic mermaid tale
> 
> Damian has brought Marinette back to the castle.
> 
> Now what?

Damian could feel his anxiety building up as he carried the still sleeping Marinette into the kitchens where he knew he’d find Cassandra.

Plenty of servants had already seen him carrying the little mer (disguised now as a human), and he knew it was only a matter of time until this information got back to his father and older brothers. Rumors would most certainly start, and it would be a nightmare to deal with...but not as big a nightmare as Dick and Jason would make this.

Prince Damian Wayne of the Kingdom of Gotham carrying a badly wounded, nearly naked woman into the castle?

That wouldn’t end well at all if he didn’t get Alfred and Cassandra on his side quickly. His siblings would believe  _ anything _ Alfred told them (given the older man was practically their grandfather). They wouldn’t dare disrespect the older man by trying to argue with him or bringing up rumors. Especially since they knew bringing up rumors would only upset Alfred rather than get him on their side.

Cass would simply kick their asses if they chose to be morons about the situation, and everyone knew Cass wasn’t one to be trifled with. They also knew that she was already pissed off about not being able to help plan her sixteenth birthday celebration, so the last thing they wanted to do was add fuel to the fire. Especially after she’d promised them she would  _ not _ be merciful next time they sparred.

“Cass! Cass, can you grab some spare clothes of yours? Alfred! Someone needs to fetch the healer!” Damian shouted, trying to grab their attention quickly. “I found someone in the nets!”

Cass reacted the fastest, racing over to her younger brother. She carefully looked over the girl before raising her eyebrow upon seeing Damian’s shirt on the girl.

“Oh come on, Cass! Her clothes were destroyed, and I wasn’t going to carry her back completely nude!” he defended. “I think she might have been from a wreck.”

She rolled her eyes at him and gave him a look that said, “This discussion isn’t over”. Once he growled out that he understood, Cass quickly took off to get clothing for their guest.

Alfred, thankfully, didn’t blink an eye at the fact Marinette was wearing his shirt. The older gentleman had followed Cass over before commanding one of the kitchen staff to fetch the palace healer. He tutted sympathetically before sighing, “Poor dear. She’s lucky to have survived. Prince Damian, you did the right thing by giving the young lady your shirt. I’m sure she’ll be rather thankful you didn’t parade her naked across the grounds.”

“Is this common?” one of the younger chef’s apprentices asked. “We didn’t see a girl in the nets before—”

“Unfortunately it is,” Alfred said solemnly. “The sea is an unforgiving foe. She was fortunate to be found still alive…”

“Aye, we’ve dragged bodies out of the nets before,” one of the older chefs said quietly. “Sometimes bodies float from the wreckage and end up caught in the nets if they aren’t eaten by predators first. She’s a lucky one. Young prince, take ‘er into the chefs’ quarters. She’ll be comfortable in there while you all wait for the healer and the princess.”

Damian nodded his thanks as he carefully carried Marinette through a hidden door that led to the servants’ quarters. This area in particular belonged to the chefs and their apprentices, due to its close proximity to the kitchen, and it’s excellent ventilation. The way this section of rooms was designed made it so smoke from the kitchen (in case something burned or caught on fire) wouldn’t immediately fill the rooms. The walls were also a little thicker so that chefs who were resting could sleep while others worked, so he knew she’d be able to sleep peacefully there while they waited.

He laid her on the cleanest cot, which belonged to the head chef. As he set her down, he felt her arms tighten around his neck as she woke from her sleep. His heart twinged as she let out a whimper of fear, not wanting to let him go. He did his best to soothe her, rubbing her back just as Dick had when he was a little boy, while he gently whispered to her.

“Marinette, it’s okay. I’m not leaving you, but we’ve gotta fix up your injuries, okay? The healer will be here in a few moments to bandage you all up, and then I can carry you again. I’m right here, Marinette. I’m not going anywhere.”

Marinette did release the hold she had on him, allowing herself to fall back into the fabric of the cot. She hummed curiously, not fully understanding what she was laying on. Her stormy eyes turned to Damian, as if she were waiting for a response from him. She tilted her head sideways on both sides, trying to get the human to understand what she was gesturing at.

“It’s a cot. It’s made of fabric and it’s meant to make sure you’re not laying directly on the ground. Fabric is made of fibers from plants that are on land. They help keep us warm,” Damian explained quietly.

The mer’s hands then tugged on the shirt she was wearing before chirping, “Fabric?”

“Yes, Mari. Clothes are made of fabric, including that shirt.”

She seemed intrigued by this thought and began to study the cloth until the palace healer was escorted in by Alfred. Her stormy eyes turned towards the elderly woman before those anxious eyes widened. She didn't look frightened… rather she looked surprised.

"Hello, little one. My name is Leslie. Let's get those cuts and scrapes taken care of, hm?" the white haired woman said. 

Marinette nodded shyly, holding out an arm to Leslie. She didn't wince as Leslie began to clean her wounds, stirring a sense of curiosity in Damian. She clearly trusted Leslie not to hurt her… but why?

She’d been absolutely terrified of him.

Was it because Leslie was a woman?

Damian had to admit that would make a bit of sense. The majority of sailors were men after all, and they were the ones who’d taken her from her family. She also mentioned that some of the men had wanted to eat her...and he had a terrible guess as to what she’d been suggesting when she told him she couldn’t bear to say it. She’d been hurt so much by men...it would make sense she would be more at ease with someone who wasn’t a man.

Even as she winced, the dark haired mer made no movement to pull away from Leslie. She sat perfectly still, despite the fact she began to shake a little bit. Her face paled more than it had before, leaving her skin an eerie white, and Damian could see the concern on Leslie's face. He grew more concerned as her eyes began to flutter, as if she were struggling to stay awake.

It made his stomach churn, so he adjusted his position from kneeling next to the cot to sitting on the edge. Leslie helped him readjust Marinette so that she could lean back against him. He felt his heart begin to pound as he realized she now felt colder than before. Was she sick? Was she dying?! 

"Alfred, my dear, could you make sure no one comes through the door?" the healer said as she finished bandaging up Marinette’s arms, grimacing at the state her patient was in. 

Alfred nodded before his eyes darted over to Damian. 

"I think we can let the little prince in on the secret as he's brought home one of his own," Leslie said with a grin. 

"Ah, so she is—"

"Yes, my dear. Now my little one, why don't you tell me what you're doing so far from home?"

Damian looked bewildered between the man who was essentially his grandfather and the kind healer who had always been rather matronly. They had a secret? Did his father know? Did they always have one? Why were they bringing it up now? What was going on?

He looked at Marinette ,who's eyes had lit up, despite her posture remaining stiff against him. He grabbed one of her newly bandaged hands reassuringly before looking at Alfred.

"What's going on here?" he asked cautiously. 

"She's one of us," Marinette answered quietly. "Why are you here?"

"A tale older than the stars my dear...I fell in love with a handsome and generous sailor who saved me from the market," Leslie answered kindly. "But I haven't seen any mer such as yourself around these parts my dear. The more detestable types like to swim these rough and cool waters."

Damian’s jaw  _ dropped _ .

Leslie was a mer too?!

"Does Father know?" he interjected, looking between the two of them for answers. "And why didn't you tell me the stories weren't a lie?"

"No, but your grandfather and grandmother did," Leslie answered. "Thomas and Martha were kind enough to offer me a place amongst them when I told them I had nowhere else to go. They kept my secret to keep me safe… just as you're keeping hers."

“We never confirmed or denied anything,” Alfred responded from his post. “We simply let you believe what you wished to.”

As Alfred kept an eye on the door, Leslie began to work on cleaning the deep cuts on Marinette’s legs. Her hands began to glow with a soft white light as she worked, capturing both adolescents' attention. Wherever the glow touched, the wounds would miraculously stop bleeding. It was as if the wound had been cauterized without needing to be burnt. It seemed to cancel out any pain as well because Marinette didn't make a single sound of pain or wince this time.

In fact, Marinette had relaxed against Damian. Her face had regained a little bit of its pink, not looking so pale anymore. In fact, her eyes were even widened in a child-like awe as she murmured something about mer healers’ powers. She chewed on her bottom lip for a few moments before saying, “I was tricked.”

Leslie’s expression pinched with worry.

“By a human?”

“...by another mer...she said my pod was going to be at this cove we all frequent...but when I got there…”

“There were humans.”

The dark haired mer nodded as Leslie began wrapping up her legs.

“The first group wanted to eat me...they kept going on about the legend of the mer’s flesh. I told them it wasn’t true, but they said that I was lying in a desperate attempt to save my own life. The touched my tail a lot...as if they couldn’t bring themselves to touch the human part of me. They were about to...about to cut my fins off, but their boat was raided by another.”

Damian could hear Marinette’s swallow as she tried to force herself to continue speaking.

“The men who took me then wanted to sell me to a sideshow. They said with how pretty I was, I would make them a lot of money. They also told me that as long as I was their good girl, they would keep me safe from other sailors. That didn’t include the other members of the crew though…”

Her breath began to hitch as she struggled, shaking once again against Damian. She could hear Leslie’s gentle voice telling her that she didn’t have to say anything more. Marinette didn’t listen to Leslie. She needed to get this out. If she didn’t get it out now, she never would, and then how would she cope?

“He touched me...all over...kept saying how pretty I was...how much he wanted to take me...I managed to get away because he untied me and he was drunk...and I’m so scared because if I go back to the ocean now, it will be the same. Another pod that’s stronger than me will catch me and—”

Damian  _ hated _ how terrified she sounded. 

He gently squeezed her hand before saying, “I promise you, those men won’t  _ ever _ lay another finger on you. Leslie is patching you up, so you won’t be returning to the ocean wounded either. We’ll find a way to keep you safe.”

Marinette turned her head to look at him. Those breath-taking eyes were full of tears and vulnerability as the shed tears dripped down her soft-looking cheeks. She leaned more into his touch, searching his eyes for any sign of deceit. They gazed into each other's eyes for a few moments before Cass rejoined the group, holding what Damian recognized as one of her old dresses.

“I’m sorry to hear you don’t remember much,” Leslie said, quickly finishing Marinette’s final leg. “The bad news is you won’t be able to walk for a while. You have a lot of deep lacerations in your legs that are going to need to heal up. Do you remember your name, dearie?”

“Marinette,” was the whispered response.

“What a pretty name,” Alfred commented. “Prince Damian? Would you mind having a word with me while Leslie and Princess Cass dress Marinette?”

Damian stiffened for a moment before Marinette squeezed his hand. She smiled at him reassuringly, so he reluctantly helped her lay back down on the cot. He heard her voice, as soft as the wind, ask Cass if they were truly royalty. He bit back a laugh, not wanting to be rude as Cass simply nodded her head and held up the dress.

The dark haired boy slipped off to the side where he couldn’t see Marinette or the girls. His green eyes looked up at his pseudo-grandfather questioningly, loosely crossing his arms in front of him.

“You found her in the nets?” Alfred asked.

“Yes.”

“The story you’re going with is that she was shipwrecked and has no memory?”

“Yes, and I’ve already discussed it with her.”

“Damian, you understand the consequences of this, correct?”

“I know there will be rumors, but I was hoping you and Cass could help me get to my siblings. So long as the family is united, the others will just think it’s palace gossip.”

“Damian...she may never be able to return home. She may not know where it is, and even if she does, the pod may have moved on without her.”

“Then she’ll stay here.”

“And how are you going to convince your father of that? Leslie was allowed to stay because she was a healer. We don’t know what Marinette can do. There will be a great deal of pushback—”

“I don’t care, Alfred. I promised her I would protect her, and I will not go back on my word.”

Alfred looked pensive for a moment before sighing. He gave him a soft smile before mumbling that he taught the princes too well...they were turning out stubborn like himself and Bruce. He had been worried that Damian simply brought her back because he could or because he found her beautiful...but the boy seemed dead set on protecting her true identity.

“You’ll have to stop being so familiar with her then,” he muttered, crossing his arms. “The lords won’t like you being so familiar with her, and your poor father might just faint from the sight.”

“I’m helping her! Anyone who thinks that I have untoward motives towards her will be swiftly corrected, but you heard Leslie. She won’t be able to walk for a while. She’ll need my help.”

“Why not Cassandra’s?”

“Because Cass didn’t cut her out of the nets. Cass didn’t promise her that she wouldn’t leave. I did that, and I’m sticking to my word.”

Quiet clapping brought both Damian and Alfred’s attention to the doorway. Cass, with her bob-cut black hair and dark eyes shining with mischief, was clapping her hands together. She had a large grin on her face as she looked between her brother and grandfather. She quickly signed ‘I’m proud of you’ to Damian, and ‘He’s such a gentleman’ to Alfred. 

Then Cass asked where Marinette had come from.

“Damian and I propose a shipwreck. It would explain how she ended up in our nets. She was probably trying to make it towards the land, didn’t see the net, and got herself stuck,” Alfred answered.

Cass got a thoughtful look on her face before signing to Damian that she was dressed. The smile returned to her face as her little brother raced past her to see the other girl. She looked at Alfred and grinned broadly before signing, ‘He likes her a lot.’

“Yes, Cass. Yes, he does. Now we just have to see how your father will react to this,” Alfred hummed. “He is still king and Damian is still a prince. Him cozying up to a girl from a shipwreck will be suspicious to some and a terrible choice to others. It will affect public perception.”

‘Fuck them’, the dark haired teenager signed. “She’s nice. Besides, Damian can’t mess up worse than Jason.”

Alfred sighed again, watching Damian carefully scoop up a now dressed Marinette. The dark haired girl had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. She was smiling up at Damian, and it reminded Alfred of a scene oh so very long ago...when he’d found a beautiful mermaid being held in a small tank at the market.

Damian was allowing Marinette to look around, talking to her gently when she asked him questions and smiling at her seemingly child-like wonder.

The elderly man took one long look at the pair before looking back at Cass and Leslie, who had joined them.

“I suppose you’re correct, Cass. Damian couldn’t mess up worse than Jason.”


	17. Day 17: De-aging

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian isn't good at expressing feelings, so Bart and Gar thought they'd help him out.
> 
> Tim and Dick aren't pleased by the results.

Tim really  _ fucking _ hated magic.

_ Despised _ the shit.

Why?

Not only did it never make any goddamn sense, but it always seemed to cause problems! No matter what the intention of the magic was, things always went sideways when magic was involved. Tim had lost count of how many times one magician/spellcaster/whatever the fuck you wanted to call them had fucked something up and it having taken a plethora of assorted magical things to fix it. All he knew was that number was  _ too damn high _ .

And it was getting  _ higher _ .

“And  _ what _ exactly were you two trying to accomplish?!” Tim growled at the Titan’s two local pranksters.

To their credit, both Garfield and Bart looked absolutely guilty as they rubbed the backs of their necks. The green shape-shape shifter looked more panicked than the red-headed speedster, but the speedster also had a handful of two toddlers while he had the book.

Tim had recognized it almost immediately as one of Raven’s spellbooks.

“You two  _ know _ not to go into Raven’s room! You also know that you can’t just fu—”

“Language!” Bart had the gall to snap. “There are little babies!”

“AND WHOSE FAULT IS THAT?!”

“Aw, c’mon Timmy! Baby Dames and Little Nette are adorable! Look at the two of them!”

Tim could feel a migraine coming on as he stared at the two children in Bart’s arms. A dark haired little girl was looking around curiously at everything around her. Her stormy eyes never stopped moving and one thumb was in her mouth. She seemed to be okay with Bart holding her. She also seemed to be okay that the other toddler had a python’s grip on her free hand.

The other toddler was darker skinned with agitated jade green eyes. He was holding on tightly to the little girl's hand as if he was afraid she'd disappear the second he let go. He wasn't trying to fight them anymore, which was a blessing, but he downright  _ refused _ to be away from the girl.

"So tell me about this spell?" Tim demanded, hands on his hips like he'd seen Dick do thousands of times. 

"Well, it says it is supposed to force the user to admit their feelings? We're not sure why they're children though. We cast it on Damian because he was being an ass about Marinette," Gar said, gesturing to the book in his hands.

"It seems like they've retained most of their memories, but their attitudes are very child-like in nature," Bart added. "Like Damian’s death grip on her hand."

Tim felt like he was going to explode and silently wondered if this is what Dick felt like  _ all the fucking time _ . He knew Raven was on a spiritual retreat to Azarath, so she would be out of contact at least for several more days. He really didn't want to call her comm (which she always carried) because he knew how important it was for her to be able to reset and recharge with powers like hers. 

That meant Tim would be alone in trying to figure out what to do with them. 

The little girl at this point took her thumb out of her mouth, only to pull  _ hard _ on Bart's hair. 

"Dami's not a bad word!" she snapped. "Dami my friend!"

Tim grabbed the toddlers before things could escalate, practically shoving Bart to the ground. He held on tightly to her, trying to get her to calm down while the other watched in quiet wonder.

"MARINETTE, PLEASE! Bart is stupid for saying something mean about Damian, but it's not nice to pull hair either!" he groaned.

As soon as the tiny toddler stopped thrashing, and GOD was she surprisingly  _ strong _ for something so small, she turned her attention to Damian. She gave him a reassuring smile before patting his hand. 

"It's okay, Dami. I know you're good," she grumbled in a surprisingly hostile voice. "You're my Dami."

Damian was quiet but blushed. This made Marinette giggle which caused the blush to deepen. He didn't say anything, but he did return Marinette's pats with some of his own. 

"Marinette, can you tell me what you and Damian were doing before this happened?" Tim asked the more verbal of the pair.

"Dami was showing me a new move!" Marinette chirped. "He said I need to know more kicks, an' Bart and Gar came in. They started saying something to Dami, but I couldn't hear."

Marinette gave the pair a glare before looking back at Tim and telling him that they'd been upsetting Damian before he yelled at them to get out. They'd left, and then they'd returned. This was the point that they had cast the spell on Damian.

Since Damian had been touching Marinette to correct her stance, the spell had hit her too.

"And that's what happened!" Marinette chirped. "I'm hungry, Tim. Can we please eat?"

Damian nodded his head, now clenching his brother’s uniform. He was hungry as well, but he didn't want to speak to anyone else. He was worried that the spell would force him to speak his secret. He didn't want  _ anyone _ knowing!

"Dami, okay? You're crying."

That was when he realized both his brother and Marinette were looking at him worriedly. Damian barely cried. He'd always had such a strong handle on his physical expression of emotions that it was shocking to see him express an emotion that wasn't anger. 

Tim sighed before placing both toddlers on the floor.

"Sorry, but I need hands. I'm going to call Dick, and then we'll get you some food, okay?" he asked gently. 

Marinette nodded with a smile while Damian just glanced up at his brother. Even if he didn't show it, Tim knew Damian was secretly glad he was calling Dick. Out of everyone in the family, Damian was most comfortable with Dick, especially when it came to him feeling vulnerable, and Tim knew that.

Tim could only hope that Dick didn’t  _ completely  _ freak out when he discovered that Marinette and Damian were now toddlers.

—————

Dick reacted  _ far _ worse than Tim had expected.

Not only had he raced over to the tower like a madman, Dick had  _ reamed _ Garfield and Bart for messing around with Raven’s magic. He’d actually  _ yelled _ at them, demanding to know if they’d thought about what affects it could have on Damian and Marinette. He brought up the fact that they could have seriously hurt both of them or worse.

Marinette had been cuddling Damian while all of this was going on. She had held onto him while Dick was getting out his anger, smiling when Damian hesitantly hugged her back. She had been delighted at the fact Damian was not struggling to get out of her hold and was allowing her to be close to him.

Damian had been eerily silent, which had concerned both Dick and Tim. The fact he’d been allowing Marinette to take up his space made them concerned too, as Damian had never been one for physical affection. He had actually begun holding her back, accepting cuddles from the smaller girl. He smiled a little bit after Marinette giggled in glee, looking at her fondly. 

Dick had scooped them up once he was red in the face and told the two toddlers that they were coming back to the manor. Marinette had chirped at him that she was hungry and so was Dami. Dick told them that they’d eat as soon as they got back to the manor, so that way he could keep an eye on them.

Which led to their current situation.

Dick had given both kids a bowl of cereal to start off with, not wanting to give them too much food. Marinette had eaten with gusto, while Damian was more reserved. Marinette was finished a lot sooner than Damian, but she still sat at the table as Damian ate, kicking her feet back and forth. She was chirping happily at Damian, who silently nodded or shook his head in response to her.

Everything was calm until Jason walked into the kitchen.

“Hey Dickhead, where did you go ear—is that Demon Spawn?!” he said in surprise. “Who is the other one?! Did you fucking steal children?!”

“Yes, the boy is Damian, and no I didn’t steal any children. Jason, the little girl is Marinette. There was a magical mishap, and Gar and Bart are just lucky I didn’t kick their asses,” Dick groaned. “Could you not swear in front of them?”

“Fuck you, they already know all the swear words,” Jason snapped.

He then went over to the kids. Marinette smiled brightly at him and greeted him while Damian ignored him. Jason almost let out a coo of awe at how  _ adorable _ Marinette was! Toddler Marinette had chubby little cheeks with eyes that looked too big for her face. Her hair was so long, and it nearly fell to her butt. She was nearly dangling off the stool, which just highlighted how  _ tiny _ she was.

“Hi, Jason!” she chirped. “How are you?”

“Hey, Cakepop! I’m doing pretty good. Where’s Tikki?” he asked. “Couldn’t she fix this?”

“She wanted to be with the other kwamis, so I left her in the box,” Marinette said. “I told her I was gonna be with Dami, so she stayed.”

Damian flushed a little at that, seeming pleased with those words. Jason got a devilish idea, wanting to see how far he could push little Damian. After all, the little brat didn’t have any weapons his size right now, so what could it hurt?

Jason scooped Marinette up from her seat and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“JASON! What are you doing! You could have scared Marinette! What if she’d still been eating—” Dick started to round on Jason.

“Aw, c’mon! Look at how precious she is! She’s the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen. Don’t tell me you don’t want to give her whatever she asks for. I bet those doll eyes she has as an adult would be downright  _ lethal _ now,” Jason said, adjusting Marinette so she was resting on his hip. “Makes me want to steal her away—”

“NO! You can’t keep Marinette!” Damian shouted, speaking for the first time since his transformation, slamming his hands on the counter.

Jason got a shit eating grin on his face before saying, “Well, why not Demon Spawn? She’s practically already part of the family. I love—”

“NO, I LOVE HER, NOT YOU! YOU CAN’T KEEP HER!” he snapped.

A flash of light blinded Dick and Jason for a moment. Years of training, and the fact that Marinette didn’t weigh much even at her proper age, kept Jason from dropping her. Marinette blinked in confusion, her cheeks bright pink as she held onto Jason. Jason quickly set her down, knowing the little teen would  _ not _ hesitate to kick his ass if he didn’t. 

A now teenage Damian was now sitting at the counter, his face darkened by the blush. He was glaring daggers at Jason as he huffed, trying to calm himself down. He looked hesitantly and slightly apprehensive as his gaze drifted to Marinette.

“Well fuck, Demon Spawn. Why don’t you just ask her out if you feel so strongly about her?” Jason suggested, crossing his arms. “I  _ was  _ going to say I love having her around the house, and I’m looking forward to having a new sister, but damn.”

Marinette bit the corner of her lip, watching how Damian’s face shifted to something more vulnerable and  _ embarrassed _ . She quickly made her way over to him before smiling gently. She grabbed one of his hands from the counter and squeezed it.

“...you really like me?” came the hesitant question from her lips.

Damian nodded mutely, the fear clear in his eyes. He was so terrified that this would be it. He was terrified she’d never want to see him again or that their friendship would have been ruined. He didn’t want to lose Marinette. He couldn’t. She was much too important to lose.

“Would you like to go out with me? You did tell me that you wanted to take me to the Gotham Art Museum,” she said softly. “I-I’d really enjoy that.”

Damian looked at her hopefully before nodding.

Dick let out a loud squeal of delight before darting out of the room, screaming about how he had to tell everyone Damian had a date. Jason grinned at Damian before saying, “Don’t fuck it up, Demon Spawn.”

He followed the path Dick took, shouting at him to calm the fuck down.

“...would...would you want to go this weekend?” Damian coughed. “They have an exhibit featuring dress styles from the nineteen twenties.”

Marinette smiled brightly before responding, “Yes, Dami. I’d really like that.”


	18. Day 18: Northern Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian has a present for Marinette.

The snow outside was falling heavily, adding inch by inch to the amount that was already there. Majority of the roads had been closed, and the local government had encouraged people to stay indoors and at home where it was safe. Due to the weather conditions, patrols had also been greatly limited, leaving some of the Batclan at home.

The youngest of the family, Damian Wayne, was curled up in a blanket nest with his girlfriend of four years. She was laying in his lap, curled up with her Nintendo Switch. The console, in the pastel pink case he’d bought for her, was currently on, and Marinette was absorbed in playing her new Animal Crossing game. She had wiggled herself so that her head was directly under his chin.

He could smell peaches, due to her shampoo and close proximity. Her hair was so soft as Damian kissed the top of her head before going back to watch her play. He cuddled her small frame close, enjoying the heat radiating from her body. He was perfectly warm and content as her small avatar raced across the snow-covered island.

His switch was currently charging, in a black case, as it had died a few moments before. Thankfully, he had managed to do what he’d set out to do before it died. He smiled to himself before nudging Marinette lightly.

“Hm?” her sweet voice came, tilting her head to look up at him.

“Check your mailbox, malāki,” he said sweetly.

Marinette raised an eyebrow, but she led her little avatar back to her house. She made a sound of intrigue when she realized her mailbox was showing she had mail. She clicked on the mailbox, opening it up to see her letters. She hummed thoughtfully as she clicked on the new letter, seeing it was from Damian.

_ To the light of my life, some lights for you. ~Damian _

“What did you do?” Marinette asked, looking at him.

“Click it and find out,” he said quietly.

Marinette opened the present to find it was a wallpaper. She wiggled excitedly before looking up at him. He smiled at her, gently pressing a kiss to her forehead. 

“You got me the Aurora Wallpaper!” she chirped. “I was saving up to get that!”

“I know, and since I know you don’t have a lot of bells due to owing Tom Nook, I decided to get it for you,” he replied, chuckling at how excited she was.

Marinette twisted around to hug her boyfriend tightly.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!” she squealed, holding him close.

“Anything for you, malāki,” Damian chuckled. “Merry Christmas, darling.”

“Merry Christmas!”

And as he continued to hold his ecstatic girlfriend in his arms, Damian couldn’t think of anywhere else he would rather be.


	19. Day 19: Antihero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things end a little darker than Marinette thought they could.
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: Death, mentions of stabbing (not explicit)

She couldn’t hear the screaming coming from two feet behind her.

She couldn’t hear herself being scolded through her commlink.

She couldn’t  _ hear. _

Blood covered the floor, dark crimson pooling and gliding easily across the stainless steel of the platform she was on. A pale haired man in a now bloodstained suit was laying on the platform. His blue eyes were wide and glazed, stuck in a look of surprise and shock. A katana protruded from the man’s still chest.

But that wasn’t what she was looking at.

The dark haired teen was knelt beside a blond teenager with a dagger embedded in his stomach. His face was twisted up with pain, but thankfully his chest was still rising and falling with pained breaths. His green eyes were full of tears as he reached up towards her, garbling sounds coming from his mouth. A small black blob was hovering over him, holding a small silver ring.

There was blood dripping from her gloved hands as she reached for him, her head buzzing with fear and panic. Everything felt unreal, as if she were in a dream. She couldn’t even tell what she was saying to him, despite feeling her mouth moving. Her only focus was on trying to get her partner up off the floor.

He needed medical help.

He needed it  _ now _ .

She was pulled away from him by strong hands, and she felt herself  _ break. _

She felt her mouth open wide as she  _ screamed _ , thrashing about in the grip that had her trapped. She continued to screech and curse, unaware of the words coming out her mouth as she shrieked that she needed to be with her partner. She needed to be with him. She needed to know if he was okay.

She needed to know that his own father hadn’t murdered him in cold blood.

Sounds started coming back to her when she felt a cape tossed over her, and she felt someone else tug her towards them. With te cape over her eyes, her brain was forced to refocus on her hearing in her panic to know what was going on around her. The sounds around her slowly came back into focus, and she could hear two distinct voices next to her.

“He  _ stabbed _ his  _ son _ ! What else was she supposed to do!”

“Normally I’d hesitate to agree with Demon Spawn on the principle of the fact, but he’s right. He attempted to kill his son, and she did the only thing she could do.”

Damian and Jason.

“There is always another way—”

Bruce.

“Maybe for your fucking ass! You’ve had years of experience. She’s had less than half that and enormous amounts of trauma.”

Jason.

“And before you dare say anything about her lack of training, I’d like to remind you that she reached out for assistance when this first started, against the wishes of the previous Guardian of the Box. You all blew it off as a joke until Wonder Woman came back from her mission and nearly took your heads off for ignoring it. She tried to reach out, and we’re the ones who rejected her, so she didn’t have any chance to get more professional training.”

Damian.

“She killed someone. We can’t just excuse—”

Bruce.

“Don’t fucking start with that shit! We all have! The only difference is that some of us have killed people more directly than others. Every time we go out to fucking fight, people are at risk of being killed. People die in our battles. Henchmen die in our raids from injuries that we may have intended to be non-fatal. It. Happens.”

Jason.

“She was all alone at the beginning, except for her partner. He’s like a brother to her, and since she became the guardian and the other heroes were exposed, he’s been the only one in her corner! Of course she would react so viscerally to seeing him injured like that.”

Damian.

“Heroes don’t kill.”

“Bull. Fucking. Shit.”

Jason.

“We aren’t letting you arrest her.”

Damian.

Arrest her for what?

Her blurry mind tried to comprehend what was going on. She took a few deep breaths, struggling to focus on what had just happened.

Her and Chat Noir were fighting Hawkmoth.

Hawkmoth had gotten Chat’s ring, revealing him to be Adrien to the villain.

Hawkmoth had untransformed.

Chat had started  _ screaming _ .

There was a coffin behind Hawkmoth.

Mrs. Agreste was in a magical coma.

Chat made a last ditch attempt to get the Miraculous from Hawkmoth.

Hawkmoth stabbed Chat.

Hawkmoth stabbed Chat.

Hawkmoth stabbed Chat.

_ Gabriel had stabbed Adrien… _

_ And she had stabbed Gabriel through the chest. _

A keening cry left her lips as she felt her legs give out from underneath her. She felt someone wrap their arms around her as the cape was pulled off her head. Green eyes stared down at her as she clutched the person like she was drowning. She felt like she couldn’t breathe as she felt her body being scooped up. She continued to cry as she was being carried away.

“I-I-I’m n-n-n-ot a he-he-hero. I sta-sta-stabbed hi-hi-him,” she sobbed.

“You did what you had to malāki.”

Damian was holding her then.

He continued to hold her as she sobbed, whispering over and over that she did what was necessary to save them. He didn’t stop walking, despite the shouting from who was most likely his father. Heavy footsteps followed them, but Damian hadn’t screamed at him. Instead he allowed the person to come closer to them.

“Shh, Cakepop. You did what you had to. Sweetie, you did good. You did so good.”

Jason.

Marinette felt her vision start to fade out from the panic going through her body. She closed her eyes as she heard Damian and Jason talking to her. They were quietly whispering reassurances and calming words.

As she slipped into unconsciousness, she heard Jason say one last thing.

“Damian loves you more than life itself. We won’t let anything happen to you. If you can’t be a hero, then you can join me being an antihero. Fuck them and fuck the rules.”


	20. Day 20: Betrothed- Fae!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of Chapter 3's Fae!AU
> 
> I'd like to dedicate this chapter to a consistent commenter who never fails to make me smile, Bbgirl3191!
> 
> While I love any and all comments on my fic's, I feel honored that you'd comment on every chapter the way you do. Thank you, and everyone else for your consistent support!

The rot was thick in this corner of the wood. Bare trees with limbs missing and giant cracks up to the trunks towered overhead. The path was littered with downed trees, pricker bushes, thorns, and animal bones, proof that nothing could thrive in this section of the wood. The wind was eerily still as a thin, tall man made his way through the debris. The musky smell of earth filled his nose as he grimaced at the mush he’d grabbed instead of a solid tree branch in an attempt to pull himself up.

His arms, hands, knees, and shins were bloody as he struggled to climb through the thickets and trees. His muscles ached and his feet were bleeding, but he refused to stop. He had to make it to the clearing in the thicket. He had to. This was his only chance. He needed this.

He could feel the blood squishing in his shoes as he stepped, exhausted as he clung to his rucksack. It had the most important thing he needed…

An offering.

The man felt his anxiety stir as he made his way into the clearing. The grass crunched under his feet, tan and dead. In the middle of the clearing was a throne made of gnarled and petrified wood. Thorns grew thick around it, seeming to be the only plants that were able to thrive in this desolate place. Bones littered where the thorns were not...and some of them looked frighteningly human.

The man looked at the throne before deciding to throw his rucksack onto it. It held his offering after all, but the man did not wish to get close to the thorns or sharp edges of the chair before him. He was already weakened, after all.

The bag let out a wail as it was hurled into the air, but it never reached the throne.

A rush of black mist came hurtling towards the throne, catching it just before it could land amongst the thorns. The black mist deteriorated to show a man standing with the rucksack in his arms. The thorns did not seem to bother him, for every step he made the thorns withered and died beneath his feet.

The man towered over him, easily being over seven feet tall. He had an angular face with sharp features, not excluding his narrowed eyes. It would be a handsome face, were it not for the snear currently occupying those thin lips, creating a haunting look with the shadows it created. Those eyes were an almost unnerving green, too bright and too intense to be human....and they were fixated on him.

His skin was darkly tanned, which was odd given there was very little light in this area of the wood. His body was also muscular, which also was odd considering there was very little nutritional food here. His hair was pitch black, pooling to his lower back, only being restrained by a singular golden band. The hair seemed to move on its own, currently fluffed out like a startled cat.

This newcomer carefully pulled a small infant out of the rucksack, cradling her gently against his chest. He looked over her quickly, assessing that no physical harm had been done to the child. The only things that appeared to be wrong were that the infant needed to be fed and changed. That was nothing he couldn’t take care of. His green eyes looked up from the child before he gave the most bone-chilling smile, full of sharp teeth.

“Care to explain yourself, mortal?” he hissed, his voice deep and dark.

“Oh, my God, hear me! I offer you the only thing I have left in this mortal coil, my only child, in return for a request. I beg of you my God! Make me immortal! I wish to live!” the man said, falling to his knees. “There is so much I do not yet know! Do not let this sickness take me!”

The man tilted his head, a sharp cracking sound coming from his neck.

“And why would you seek me out, mortal? Surely, you must know where my domain lies?” the hissing came again, making the mortal man tremble.

“My God...the Goddess would never understand. She would never grant such a boon to us lowly mortals...but you created us—”

“With my Goddess.”

The man flinched, but continued, “Yes...with your Goddess, but she does not treat us like her own. You do. You were the only one I could think of who would be so gracious to offer me this opportunity. Please, my God. Please, I offer you my only worldly possession! I offer you my daughter—”

“You certainly do not treat her like a worldly possession,” the God snarled, the green of his eyes brighter than before. “The babe is starving and filthy. If she were your greatest treasure, then she would be better tended.”

“Please my God, my wife just passed. I have been without her for almost seven cycles of the sun,” the mortal continued to beg. “Please, take my daughter so that I may not die of the same sickness that took my wife!”

The God was disgruntled to say the least. He could tell the man was lying from just looking at him. There was no grief in his eyes. There were no tears for his deceased wife. There was no shaking in his voice from any other emotion but  _ fear _ . The man clearly wanted to use his young daughter as a sacrifice so he no longer had to be bothered with her. He did not care for the child at all. 

But he could also see the energy swirling around him.

This man was one of his chosen who would bring chaos and destruction wherever he laid his hands. The God felt sorry for the child in his arms...hmm, perhaps he was spending too much time with his Goddess. He was getting soft if an abused child was managing to tug on his heart strings so badly...and yet he could almost hear his beloved’s voice whispering “Is that such a bad thing?”.

“Fine. I shall take the child and in return you will become immortal,” the God growled. “But do not take my offering lightly, mortal. Tell others of your bargain, and it will be made void.”

The mortal man shook his head, excited for the first time.

It made the God want to throw up.

Tucking the child close to his chest, he called upon the spirits of the void to assist him. Black mist rolled into the clearing as the God took a seat on his throne. Green eyes gleamed at the mortal man before he commanded that the mortal must walk through the thorns to his throne if he wished to see his bargain fulfilled. The thorns were now alive once more, teeming with destructive energy. They would take the mortal’s blood and fuse it with their magic, giving him eternal life.

The man began his walk through the thorns, showing his desire to achieve eternal life, at any cost. The God grimaced as he watched the man walk closer and closer to his throne. He shifted his hold on the child, who’d fallen silent, and wondered if he’d made a mistake in choosing this man as one of his.

The man was a foot away from the throne when a loud voice shrieked, “PLAGG, WHAT IN THE COSMIC BALANCE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”

The God, Plagg, winced as he heard his Goddesses voice.

“Tikki, my darling—”

“Don’t you try to ‘my darling’ yourself out of this, Plagg! You know you can’t just grant immortality to anyone who asks!” the Goddess snapped, a sharp finger pointed in his direction. “I won’t allow him to take a step further!”

True to her word, the man found himself frozen in place. He could no longer control his limbs, despite all his desire to keep moving forward and obtain what he’d rightfully bargained for. He looked at the Goddess in fear and anger.

She was almost as tall as the God, much taller than the average human woman. While Plagg was sharp and narrow, the Goddess Tikki was rounded and soft. Her face was rounded with a slight chubbiness to her cheeks. Her body, while an hourglass, was not thin like many other women he’d seen in the village. She looked like a woman well-fed with thick arms and thighs. She appeared overall very soft looking, almost maternal.

Well, she’d appear soft looking if she wasn’t so furious.

Her round purple eyes were  _ blazing _ with rage, almost brighter than Plagg’s. Her plump lips were pulled into a deep frown, and her eyebrows were deeply furrowed. Her fiery red hair, that almost seemed to float around her full of  _ life _ , was not restrained by any band. Though it was pushed aside by two bright, translucent wings that stemmed from her back. Her wings were almost larger than herself, shimmering and beautiful as they seemed to catch whatever non-existent light there was in Plagg’s realm.

“Take it back, Plagg,” she demanded.

“I cannot, my sweetness. He is one of my chosen.”

Tikki’s purple eyes suddenly turned dark.

“Your chosen?! Plagg, you know there’s no way to undo that!”

“I know, my love, which was why I had decided to grant the wish with a caveat. However, we must make a new deal as your presence here inhibits my ability to finish the first one without your consent...and I’m guessing you do not?” Plagg purred, smiling at his beloved.

Tikki crossed her arms before snapping, “Of course not!”

“Then a new bargain must be struck. Tikki, my darling, how would you choose to remedy this situation?”

The man went to argue, but the Goddess raised her hand, silencing him. The goddess pondered for a moment before noticing the child in Plagg’s arms.

“Plagg...is that a baby?”

“She was his offering.”

Tikki looked down at the poor little thing, noticing how hungry and filthy the child was. She hummed gently, smoothing one finger down the baby girl’s cheek. Pink dust filled the air around the baby, and before the man could breathe, the baby was clean and well nourished. The dark haired little girl began to coo at the Goddess, making the ethereal being smile.

“Choose her as well,” Tikki began softly. “Choose her as well. When she comes of age, she shall return to my realm to marry one of my own. Only then will I allow his gift to be bestowed upon him.”

Tikki’s purple irises turned to the man, staring straight through his soul.

“It would do you good to listen well, Ra’s Al Ghul. Your daughter, Talia, is the key to your immortality. Treat her well and raise her properly. If not, you shall be denied immortality based on my decision that you will only use it irresponsibly,” Tikki said, her voice unwavering.

Plagg smiled, teeth sharp and deadly, as he pressed one clawed finger to the baby’s wrist.

“Be warned,” Plagg purred, turning that deadly grin on Ra’s. “If the bargain is not met, the lands around you will begin to wither and die. If she does not fulfill her destiny, then her descendents must if there is to be hope for your lands. My Goddess is kind, but I am not as forgiving.”

Ra’s Al Ghul nodded, taking his daughter from the God, trembling all the while.

Tikki and Plagg entwined their hands….

And all went dark.

——————

“So, are you a healer?” Damian asked as they walked through the wood, feeling much better now that the fairy had restored his health.

“Of sorts,” Marinette responded softly. “I normally tend to the blooms and help them grow. My father bakes goods along with my mother, but that’s not where my heart is set. I help others with various things from time to time.”

“Sort of a jack of all trades,” he said. “You haven’t found your calling?”

The dark haired fairy cast her eyes to the ground before biting her thumb. Those stormy eyes seemed to grow even stormier as she pondered Damian’s question. Before he could tell her to drop it though, she answered.

“I’m not sure I have a specific one,” Marinette admitted. “I’m the Goddess’s Chosen, and my powers are greater than the other fairies. If I can do so much, why would I be limited to one thing? Will I be limited to one thing? I’m just...I don’t know.”

Damian sighed before saying, “I have a slight understanding of what you mean by not knowing your role.”

She tilted her head, and Damian could help but smile at her confused expression. She looked just like a puppy with her big eyes and sweet face. He felt his heart beat a little faster as she glanced at him.

“I’m the youngest son of my family,” he said, pushing a branch out of their path. “My father adopted several children before discovering me with my mother. My father is the lord of these lands...and it’s not certain that I would have become the next lord, despite being the only biological child of his.”

“You have brothers then?” she asked. “Or is he more forward thinking and leaving it to a sister?”

This led Damian and Marinette into a discussion about their families. Damian told her all about his adopted brothers and sister. He told her about how Richard, Dick, was the eldest of the family. Dick was kind, courageous, and a good soul, and Damian loved and respected him greatly as a leader. He was the one who would most likely become lord after their father died, and Damian could not find it in him to hate his brother for it. He knew Dick would be a good and just lord, knowing just how the lower populace struggled.

His next brother, Jason, was a temperamental hothead. He told her all about how Jason used to get them in trouble with other lords and ladies because he was ‘uncivilized’ and ‘uncouth’. While Damian admitted Jason could be both those things, he also told her she would never find a more dedicated champion than Jason. He told her his brother was loyal, determined, and a fierce protector.

Tim, the third brother, was the smartest of them all in Damian’s opinion. Tim always had his head in foreign books and was always trying to learn something new. Tim would make a fantastic scholar, and their family was thankfully very supportive of him. Tim was also a kind and gentle person when it suited him best, but he was not afraid to get confrontational, especially about something he believed.

Then there was his sister, Cassandra. Cassandra was a fierce, intelligent fighter who was often overlooked due to her muteness. Others only cared about selling her off to the highest bidder, though many scoffed at the idea someone would willingly marry a mute girl, Lord’s daughter or not. He told her about how Cass was the best confidant and a loving older sister. He also told her about how Cass was the one who helped him pull pranks on his older brothers and got them out of trouble if they got caught.

Marinette had told him about her own childhood in response. She lived with her mother and father but she had no siblings. Her maman was a strong, independent woman who loved her husband and daughter with everything she had. Her papa was a jolly giant who loved to bake and adored his wife and daughter. Her parents wanted to see her happy, and they were so excited about her finally getting her task. She then got a panicked look on her face as she wondered how she was going to tell  _ anyone _ that she was now engaged!

“Just say we were betrothed by the Gods,” Damian shrugged. “It’s not like it’s untrue.”

Marinette then went on to talk about her friends as they continued their hike through the wood.

She mentioned Chloe, who wasn’t so bad once you got to know her. Marinette told him that Chloe was hot-headed, stubborn, and at times vain, but she was working on herself. She had been jealous when they were younger about her being Tikki’s chosen, but they had managed to mend their relationship once Chloe saw some of the downfalls of being chosen. Chloe had then become one of her stalwart companions, and she was viciously protective of Marinette.

Kagami was a fighter, through and through. Marinette mentioned that Kagami came from a long line of warriors, and there was no one better with a blade than her, save perhaps her own mother. Kagami was fierce, direct, and loyal to a fault. Kagami was the one, Marinette said, that had pushed Marinette the hardest to stand up for herself and speak her mind more.

And then there was Luka, the calm, soothing voice of reason. He was the one who kept everyone together and safe. While Luka had a temper of his own, he wasn’t as quick to burst as the other two, and more often than not, he was the one holding them back from killing someone. Luka loved music and brought music into everything he touched. Marinette told Damian that she truly believed Luka’s purpose was to create music to touch people’s souls.

The conversation stopped suddenly when Marinette let out a gasp of shock and pain.

“Marinette? Marinette, are you all right?” Damian asked, reaching out to her.

“Oh...how the land has suffered...my Goddess…” Marinette murmured, tears gathering in her eyes as she touched the deadened grass. “...I don’t know if I can fix this alone.”

“You won’t be alone, my little one,” a voice as soft as silk came from behind them. “You’ll have him beside you.”

Marinette whirled around, her stormy eyes widening in shock before she cried, “Tikki!”

Damian turned around only to be met with the six-pack of a tanned man dressed in revealing dark robes. His green eyes looked up, only to be greeted by eyes  _ greener _ than his could ever hope to be. The man gave him a fanged grin before he said, “Finally! One of you Al Ghul’s had to have some sense eventually!”

He shoved down the scream that was threatening to burst from his chest when he realized the God of Chaos and Destruction,  _ the God his grandfather had worshipped, _ was standing before him. Plagg was smiling like a cat that caught the canary as he cackled, “Don’t worry little Al Ghul, I’m not going to hurt you. You best treat Marinette well though. Tikki is not as forgiving when it comes to her little bugs.”

“Don’t call my fairies bugs, Plagg!” Tikki groaned. “We’ve gone over this a thousand times! Just because they have wings doesn’t make them bugs!”

Damian was slightly calmed by the Goddess’s appearance. She was rolling her eyes at the God, but she was smiling fondly all the while. She was a rounder woman compared to Plagg’s sharpness, and she made Damian think of home. She looked gentle and compassionate, and he thought that it made perfect sense that an ethereal beauty could create another like he saw in Marinette.

“...I know at the beginning it was just the two of you,” Damian murmured. “...but you knew the second you saw her that she was going to be the love of your life, didn’t you? That no other Gods would ever be able to surpass her for your heart?”

Plagg actually looked thoughtful at that question, his hand coming to scratch his chin. Before he could formulate an answer though, Damian quietly asked, “Is this what it feels like? Looking at someone and...just falling in love? Every animal we stumbled across walked to her. The plants seemed to bloom in her very presence. She even tended to some injured deer as we made our way here...she’s just made of  _ goodness _ .”

Plagg grinned, showing off his fangs again as he began to cackle.

“Yeah kid, that’s what it’s like. Never think it’s going to happen to you...but then you witness something so pure...so inherently good...and you love it for all it is,” the God rumbled, still grinning. “Tikki put a lot of herself in that one.”

Both Marinette and Tikki were bright red by now. Marinette was actually hiding her face in her hands as Tikki glared at Plagg. How dare the God embarrass her! This was an outrage!

“How are we going to fix this?” Marinette almost squeaked from behind her hands. “My spellcasting isn’t strong enough to cancel out a God’s—”

“Simple, we complete your bond right here,” Plagg chimed in. “I created the blight as punishment for Ra’s Al Ghul not fulfilling his bargain. As soon as the bargain is fulfilled, you and Tikki will be able to heal the earth with no issue.”

This made Marinette lower her hands. She turned towards Damian, biting her lower lip. Her face was full of sorrow and regret as she mumbled, “Won’t you miss them?”

Damian felt a pang of panic go through his chest as he realized what she’d meant.

Would he miss his father and siblings...because he was now going to  _ outlive _ them. Even if he came out of the wood to see them...they would grow old and die while he wouldn’t. There would come a time Damian would  _ never _ be able to see his family again. He’d never eat meals with them again. He’d never pull pranks with them again. He’d never enjoy those special moments with them again.

His heart cried out in agony.

Yet, his head reminded him of why things must be this way.

If Damian did not agree, the blight would continue. If he did not agree, his family would either starve to death or be murdered by their people in a desperation to stop their misfortune. If he did not agree, his mother would lose her mind, tortured by a deal she never made, until she died.

Marinette seemed to notice this turmoil and took his hands in her small ones. Her grip was reassuring and gentle, as if simply to remind him she was there. He looked at her beautiful face, furrowed in worry and empathy. She seemed to be trying to tell him that she knew this was a hard decision. She reaffirmed his beliefs when she murmured that she’ll stand beside him no matter what his final decision was.

Damian’s own pain versus the pain his family would go through.

He knew which one he’d prefer to deal with.

“I agree,” he managed to choke out. “I’d rather they live full lives and be happy than selfishly chose to stay to avoid my own pain.”

This got a purr of approval from Plagg, and Tikki’s smile seemed even gentler. Tikki gently smoothed some stray hairs on Damian’s head before she told him that she could arrange that. This made his heart a little lighter, knowing that his family would be better than okay with Tikki’s blessing.

“Marinette, my Chosen and bearer of my greatest gift, will you accept this man as your bonded? Will you accept him as he is and promise to try your best to understand him? Will you love him through the pain and joy that will come through this life?” Tikki said, her hand glowing as she took one of Marinette’s hands from his.

“I will,” Marinette said softly. “For this is a man with much love to give...even if he isn’t sure how to give it.”

“Damian, my Chosen and bearer of my greatest blessing, will you accept this fae as your bonded? Will you accept her as she is and promise to try your best to understand her? Will you love her through the pain and joy that will come through this life?” Plagg rumbled, his hand encased in black mist as he took Damian’s free hand.

“I will,” Damian responded. “For she is full of kindness and has a touch and heart that will not harden.”

“Put your hands together,” both Gods chimed as they released their hands.

Damian’s hand, swirling in the same black mist, reached out to Marinette’s, now glowing. They entwined their hands, watching in awe as the magic swirled around each other like a cord, attaching them to each other. Marinette didn’t let go of his hand, even after the magic faded, pointedly looking at Tikki.

“You know my mother will be very displeased she wasn’t witness to my bonding,” the fairy said.

“Eh, you can always have another one. Anyways, look at your man’s wings!” Plagg said with a grin.

Marinette gasped, making Damian wonder what they looked like. As if she could read his mind, she mumbled about how they looked just like a dragonfly’s, beautifully patterned and an almost bluish green tint to them. Damian fluttered them, trying to consciously control his new appendages. He fluttered them again, thinking about how much of a pain in the ass it was going to be when Marinette nearly tackled him.

She hugged him tightly before thanking him tearfully.

“Thank you for what?” Damian asked, confused.

“For picking me,” Marinette muttered against his chest. “For picking me despite everything.”

Damian ran a hand softly down her back, minding the wings folded against her lower back. He smiled at her before murmuring that if he had to be with someone forever, then he’d pick her again and again.

Marinette pulled out of the hug first, her wings puffing up as she turned to her Goddess again.

“The seal has been broken! It’s time to fix the blight!” she said, walking out onto the dried grass.

Marinette began to sing in a language Damian knew was long lost to the wood, holding her palms out face up. He watched the pink magic that he’d seen from the goddess swirl up around her like a whirlwind before it spread out. Every place a tendril touched, green grass, lush with life, sprang up.

Tikki began to sing as well, joining Marinette in harmony. She did not walk forward though, simply allowing her magic to flow into Marinette’s. With Tikki’s help, the pink whirlwind became more like a pink mist as it spread rapidly across the country. Plants sprung up everywhere. Sick animals became well again. Sick  _ people _ became well again. Neither fairy nor Goddess stopped until they could no longer feel the cold hand of Plagg’s influence upon the land.

Damian didn’t move until he saw Marinette wobble. He darted out, his wings giving him a burst of speed he didn’t know they were capable of, catching her just before she fell.

“Marinette?!”

The dark haired fairy smiled up at him weakly. She snuggled into his arms before murmuring that that was the most  _ exhausting _ bloom work she’d ever done.

Despite himself, Damian began to  _ laugh _ .

It was all over.

The blight was gone.

His family would live.

His mother wouldn’t go insane.

And he was bonded to possibly the sweetest person he’d ever met.

He kissed her forehead lightly before asking her if she’d like to hear more stories from his life. Marinette gave him a small smile before saying she’d be happy to listen. He turned his back on the village and walked back into the wood, disappearing for good into what would become his new home.

Damian had never expected to become part of the wood like his mother had told him about in fairy tales, but in the end that is exactly what became of him.

Years from then, he would hear his own tale being told by children who dared venture towards the wood. Children who called him uncle...children who would call him great-uncle, and so on.

And Damian would sit behind the glamor with his wife, happy and content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hella sick for a while (don't worry, it was just a sinus infection), so this is the first time I've felt up to writing in a while! Thanks for sticking around!


	21. Day 21: Darkness- Some kind of supernatural AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette goes into the woods a lot.
> 
> It raises questions...especially considering the woods are supposed to be dangerous.

“Who is she?”

“Doesn’t she know the woods are dangerous?”

“Why doesn’t she abide by the curfew?”

“Is she  _ human _ ?”

These were the questions that plagued merchants upon arriving in the small village of Tikki. Everyone knew the tales of what lurked in those woods. Creatures of all shapes and sizes made their homes there, but some were more dangerous than others. The most feared had to be the Unseelie, the Vampires, and the Wolves amongst other supernatural creatures. Hunters carried special items just in case they came across one of these otherworldly creatures as did merchants who traveled through the woods.

These creatures would attack caravans and travelers for food or supplies if desperate enough. Some even did it for fun, finding amusement in the humans’ pain and fear. Due to this, those who traveled the woods were a superstitious lot and were cautious of those on the roads with them.

This anxiety also trailed into those in the merchants and hunters saw going into the woods.

Which led to the fear that surrounded one particular woman in the village of Tikki… the baker’s daughter.

Upon first glancing at her, she seemed like any other woman. She was small, probably standing about five feet tall, with a thin build. She had beautiful black hair that was normally pulled up into a high bun and pale skin. Her heart-shaped face was home to a button nose, petal pink lips, and a pair of stormy blue-grey eyes.

She wore simple dresses made of cotton and bound her hair with a leather strip. Her brown dress was always nice and neat, with no tears or holes. The only thing that ever seemed to stain the dress was the flour that would get on her while she was helping her family bake, despite the white apron wrapped around her waist.

Her name was Marinette, and she was the woman who could walk into the woods with nothing but a basket and return without a singular scratch.

She could collect anything from the woods. Berries, herbs, mushrooms, it didn’t matter what use they had. If it lived in the woods, she seemed to be able to find it and harvest it...including the blackberries that were normally viciously guarded by a large creature that tore apart anything that dared get near it. 

The strangest thing?

Marinette claimed to have never seen the vicious animal that they spoke of.

She told the other villagers, as well as her parents, that she’d never seen a vicious creature near those blackberries. She’d never even so much as heard a howl while she picked them. If there was truly a vicious creature guarding the bushes, where was it? Why would she be any different to this mysterious being? She was still human after all!

However, the merchants and hunters were unsure of that statement due to one chilling fact.

Marinette was able to walk back from the woods at dusk.

The sun could be almost gone, plunging the village into darkness, and she could appear from the mouth of the woods completely unharmed. Others who attempted to do the same often ended up dead or badly wounded. Many hunters disappeared once night fell, but it seemed like no matter what, Marinette could always return from the woods without harm.

Rumors began that she was a witch...mainly spread by a newcomer to their village.

A brunette haired girl, Lila, had moved from Paris to Tikki due to her father being tossed out of court. Despite her family being stripped of their title by the king, many of the villagers flocked her to listen to her stories of the big city. Lila would tell them stories about things she’d supposedly seen in the royal city, and the peasants hung onto her every word.

All except for Marinette.

The baker’s daughter seemed disinterested in her tales and refused to give her anything for free. Marinette told Lila that her parents worked hard to earn a living, and she had to pay just like any other customer. This infuriated Lila, who had grown up used to getting anything she wanted the moment she said it. Lila was still getting some things through her wiles and good looks, but nothing she did seemed to work on Marinette, who oddly still had a pull on people.

This led to Lila plotting the dark haired young lady’s downfall. If Marinette could influence others despite being the local freak, then she was a threat to Lila’s plans. Her goal was to ultimately regain her status among the royal court by marrying someone with prestige. Her only chances to meet someone with prestige was when high-born travelers came into the village. This did not happen very often, and the most frequent high-born travelers were Lord Kent’s sons.

However, every time the sons of the village’s Lord came into town, they flocked to Marinette. Both Conner and Jon seemed to be more at ease with the baker’s daughter, laughing and having easy conversations with her about the bakery, then they did with anyone else. They often took walks together, and it was rumored that Jon had a crush on Marinette.

When Lila confronted Marinette about the rumors, the black haired girl simply scoffed before saying how the Kents used to be simple farmers before the King granted their father lordship.

“Lord Kent got his title through his valor in combat,” she had told Lila in a bored voice. “They aren’t used to having so much attention on them. Maybe if you’d back off, you’d have better luck.”

Those words had haunted and infuriated Lila.

Thankfully though, she had finally come up with a plan to get rid of the baker’s daughter.

——————

Marinette knew something was wrong as soon as she entered the woods.

Something in the air was different, and the woods were eerily silent. There were no birds chirping or small animals rushing through the underbrush. The deer that normally came across the trail were suspiciously absent. She couldn’t even see the squirrels or chipmunks that normally were darting amongst the paths and branches.

She moved along the trail quickly, wanting to get away from the uneasy feeling that was stirring in her stomach. She knew the faster she got her blackberries, the faster she could return home. She needed the berries for an order, so coming back empty handed was not an option. The dark haired girl took a deep breath before pushing back the bushes in order to reach a lesser traveled fork of the path.

No sooner had she pushed back the branches did she finally meet the creature that supposedly protected the blackberry bushes.

Marinette smiled brilliantly as she held out her hand to the large creature standing before her. She recognized the pitch black wolf before her due to its unique scar on his back left leg. Its jade green eyes were gazing up at her as it sniffed her hand. It licked her fingers a few times before pressing its body firmly against her legs. It then nudged at her hand until she began to scratch it on the head.

“Aww, look at you!” she chirped happily. “Your leg’s doing much better now, huh? I’m glad to see the trap didn’t permanently injure you.”

The wolf made a few grumbling noises, but continued to wag its tail. Every time Marinette tried to stop petting it, the wolf would whine and whimper until she started up again. She couldn’t refuse those pleading eyes, so she continued to pet the large wolf while telling it about her day. She told it about Lila’s insipid plans to get either Conner or Jon to marry her which normally involved sabotaging anyone else the young lords expressed interest towards.

Or at least the one’s Lila thought were getting their interest.

“I wonder when she’ll notice that Jon only has eyes for a certain green-eyed boy,” Marinette hummed, now sitting on the path. “I don’t even know what Conner’s type is, but it certainly does not appear to be her.”

The wolf huffed...almost as if it was laughing.

Marinette shook her head, banishing the strange thought before carefully scratching behind the wolf’s ear.

“I’m sure you didn’t come all this way to listen to me babble, but thank you. It’s gotten very lonely in the village. Half of them think I’m a witch because I have you to protect me...the other half have fallen for Lila’s other lies about me. Even my parents are worried...after all, business is bad because of me.”

The wolf tilted its head as if it was inquiring to know more.

“No one comes to the bakery because of me. No one wants to be around a witch. I wish I could just pack up and leave—but I can’t. I have nowhere else to go.”

The wolf whined again, nuzzling its muzzle against her throat. Marinette bit back tears as she hugged the large beast. She buried her head in its fur, finding comfort in the warmth of the creature. She tried desperately not to cry as she thought about having to return to her village before dark.

Would they be waiting again? Would they demand to search her again? Would they have pitchforks? What would they do—?

A loud crack made Marinette jump violently, turning her head in the direction of the noise. She could have sworn her heart stopped as she stared at the small group of farmers...with Lila at the center of them.

“See! She is a witch! Could an ordinary woman befriend a wild animal like that? She was practically laying on the beast, and it didn’t try to bite her or anything!” the auburn haired girl said with a malicious glint in her green eyes.

“N-no! You don’t understand. I saved him from a trap! That’s why he’s so nice—”

“She saved him! A wolf, who has probably been killing our sheep, from a trap! Why would she do that...unless she’s trying to save her familiar?” Lila cut her off. “I knew it! She is a threat to the village. She’s a creature of darkness, just like the things that lurk in these woods. That’s why she always comes back without a scratch!”

The wolf snarled at that before standing up. It bit Marinette’s sleeve and began to tug her towards the brush. It’s eyes were trained on the men raising their guns towards him and Marinette. It knew these men meant nothing but trouble, and it wanted to get her as far away from them as possible.

The dark haired girl took a cue from the wolf, quickly scrambling to her feet, her basket forgotten. Her slate grey eyes widened as she saw them start to move closer, their guns still raised. Marinette took a deep breath and did the only thing she could think of.

She ran further into the wood.

The wolf was beside her as she ran, almost guiding her at some points, further into the dense foliage and rough brush. She could hear the screaming and yelling behind her, demanding that she turn around and face justice in the village for crimes she’d never committed. She could feel the pricker bushes tugging harshly at her skirts, ripping and tearing away fabric as she struggled to get through them...the wolf waiting patiently as always for her.

Despite the fact the villagers hadn’t been too far away from Marinette, she had the advantage of actually knowing the woods well. Most of them had never ventured off the tried and true paths before, afraid of the supernatural beings that lurked in the woods. With her wolf beside her (who she’d first met while searching for blackberries, trapped and dying), Marinette had never encountered any other beings while exploring overgrown paths only known by their ancestors. She knew that as long as the wolf was near, she was safe.

She didn’t know why...she just knew this was a fact.

The further she got into the woods, the darker she realized it was becoming. Terror panged through her heart as she realized she’d have to stay out in the woods overnight. She’d never done that before. She’d returned after sunset before yes...but she’d never  _ spent _ the night in the woods.

And could she even go back after that?

No longer hearing the voices screaming after her, Marinette collapsed to her knees. Tears streamed down her face from fear and pain, her legs feeling like jelly from exhaustion and her knees from the rocks currently digging into them. Her slate blue eyes darted around her, not recognizing this neck of the woods. She’d never be able to get home before nightfall...even if she thought she’d be allowed back...and the cold would most likely set in soon.

Marinette felt her throat constrict as she realized there was a very real possibility she might die.

A whimper broke through her frantic thoughts, drawing her attention to her companion.

The big wolf seemed...upset...but Marinette wasn’t entirely sure why. It was pawing at the remains of her skirts and nuzzling against her shoulder. She let out a choked laugh before thanking the wolf for trying to comfort her, but that it should probably leave. She was bad luck after all. 

The wolf seemed more disgruntled at this and barked loudly at Marinette, forcing the woman to look at him.

What happened next nearly sent her into a stupor.

The wolf disappeared, turning into a  _ man _ . 

The man had the same dark black hair as her wolf as well as those same thoughtful jade eyes. He looked to be around her age, wearing what appeared to be a soft cotton shirt and black pants. He was barefoot, but that didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. His face...his expression was so severe that Marinette was afraid she’d made him angry for a moment.

Making him angry wouldn’t be a good decision...he was one of the Wolves after all.

“Please don’t eat me! I’m so sorry! I’m sorry I brought those people with guns into your woods. I’m sorry I stole blackberries from your patch! I’m so sorry I dared to intrude or treat you like some common animal!” she cried, curling further into herself.

The legends always said the Wolves were a proud people, and that they did not take kindly to being treated like simple dogs or regular wolves. Intruding upon a wolf’s territory could mean death for the individual...or something else. The villagers weren’t sure exactly what that something else was for all they knew was that people went into the woods and disappeared without a body or remains ever being recovered.

People killed for invading upon the wolves’ territory were usually left in places where they could be found...so what happened to those who disappeared completely? Did the wolves eat them? Some thought they did. Others thought they took them as slaves, and a small group of people thought even worse things.

Marinette was trembling until she felt two strong hands cup her face. The wolf-man had knelt down and was slowly lifting her head up, looking at her with a sort of fondness.

“There isn’t any need for apologies. You saved my life by releasing my leg from that trap and tending to the wound. You didn’t steal anything either. I let you take those berries as repayment for your kindness. You also had no reason to believe I wasn’t a common animal either. I’m not angry with you,” came a low, rumbling voice that made Marinette’s stomach flip.

“...you’re not?”

“No, I’m angry at those stupid farmers for believing that vapid twit,” he growled. “You, hurt anyone? Not a chance. Not unless you had to.”

“How would you—”

“Not many people would actually  _ release _ and tend to a wolf in a trap. You run the risk of running into people like me like that, Blackberry.”

Marinette’s expression turned into one of confusion before he laughed. Still holding her face gently in his rough hands, he murmured that he’d been calling her Blackberry due to her frequent visits to his grove and her scent.

“It may just be that you’re always around them, but you smell just like a blackberry...and bread…” he said. “It smells  _ divine _ .”

The dark haired girl flushed brilliantly, pulling her face out of his grip and covering it with her own hands. She was mortified about this discovery, realizing that she’d actually been  _ talking _ to someone the entire time she’d been with her wolf. Another person had heard all the things that went through Marinette’s brain. Another person knew of her disdain of Lila, and the things she’d said about the other girl.

Another person knew about how lonely she was, and how she wished to find love one day.

“I know this is probably awkward...but my name is Damian. My pack lives in these woods,” he said, not trying to pull her hands away. “You’ve mentioned you know my friend, Jon, so you must be the Nettie he’s always talking about.”

Jon knew him?!

“The Kents know there’s a Wolf pack in our woods?!” Marinette squeaked, peering at him inbetween her fingers.

“Yeah, Lord Kent and my father are good friends. They fought in the war together. When Kent became lord of the land, he offered the woods as a place for my father and the pack to stay,” Damian confirmed. “What Jon didn’t tell me was that  _ he _ knew the kind stranger who saved my life. You deserve my thanks—”

“I only did what was right,” she mumbled. “And my name’s Marinette. Nettie is a nickname Jon gave me.”

“A cute nickname for an even cuter girl.”

Marinette felt her heart stutter as a shiver went through her body. She couldn’t tell if it was the cold or anxiety at that point, but Damian certainly noticed.

“My apologies, Marinette. It’s getting colder and night will soon be here. We need to get you somewhere safe.”

“Where? I can’t go back home! They’ll shoot me!”

“My den. I have one separate from the pack for times when I want to be by myself. You can rest there. Nothing in the woods will dare go near my den, so it’s a good place for you to hide away in.”

Marinette almost refused until she remembered her earlier thought.

So long as she was with her wolf, nothing else in the forest tried to come near her.

Damian was her wolf...and it would explain why other supernatural creatures weren’t quick to try and square up with him. Staying with him would also provide sanctuary from the villagers were any to try and enter this deep into the wood. They would turn tail at the first signs of anything supernatural.

She took a deep breath before looking around again, noticing the sun had almost set completely by now. It would be cold soon, and she would lose all her sight. She looked at Damian again, biting her lip.

He’d never tried to hurt her before. Even when she pet him and treated him like she would a pet, he never tried to bite her. He kept her safe from other predators. He had tried to make sure she was safe when those farmers arrived. He was offering her safety now.

“...okay...but no funny business, alright!” Marinette said, straightening herself up. “This better not be a trick!”

Damian laughed before scooping her up into his arms.

“I wouldn’t dream of tricking you. Who would give me ear scritches then?” he teased.

Marinette made a growling sound which Damian found adorable before he promised that there would be no funny business. He hugged his human tightly to his chest, nearly whining when he felt her huddle up closer to him for warmth. He did smile smugly though as he walked back to his den.

Take that, Jason!

He could  _ totally _ befriend the cute girl who healed up his leg!

Dick’s challenge...on the other hand…

Well, hopefully after they spent some time together Damian would know if they’d make good partners. She seemed to trust him, but he didn’t want to push his luck. Since he’d been a wolf during most of their interactions, she didn’t know him. He hadn’t wanted to tell her this way, but unfortunately fate had different plans.

He had wanted to ease her into the idea of him being one of the Wolves. If he’d only had that time, he’d have been able to let her get to know him before asking her to come back with him to his den. Oh well, what was done was done.

Now Damian could only hope the sweet tempered girl who smelt of his favorite berries would want to get to know him after all the trouble he’d caused for her.

He could always hope, couldn’t he?


	22. Day 22: Ice- Ice Skating AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette had a rough day and just wants to relax.
> 
> Mar'i wants to learn how to jump.
> 
> Cass knows her brother's an idiot.

Marinette swore to  _ God _ if one more goddamn person smothered their child’s face in makeup and then screamed at them from outside the ring, she was going to commit murder with her knife shoes.

Her figure skating class had been an absolute  _ nightmare _ . Sure, these girls were pre-teens, but that didn’t mean they needed to be  _ decked  _ out in performance level makeup! Especially since some of the parents didn’t know what kind of makeup to use! She rubbed her temples as she thought about poor Marissa.

The lanky twelve year old already had problems fitting in (as she was taller than all the other girls), and today probably hadn’t helped anything. Marissa’s mother had caked the poor kid’s face in makeup, and when she was practicing her spins, the makeup began to drip off due to sweat. Marissa screamed so loud when the makeup got in her eye that Marinette had thought someone had  _ broken _ a bone.

Chloe, bless her soul, was thankfully there to save the day with makeup wipes and an extra water bottle. The blonde then rounded on the poor kid’s mother, who had come down from the stands to  _ yell _ at her for messing up while Chloe was trying to rinse the kid’s eyes out. The Queen Bee came out in her as she scolded the mother for daring to be concerned about anything other than her child’s welfare at the moment.

That had made Marinette smile, but then she’d had to deal with Angelica Mockridge, who wasn’t nearly as angelic as her name sounded. The black haired girl in Marinette’s honest opinion was spoiled and a huge brat and not like Chloe used to be.

Chloe had acted out in a desperate attempt to get her parents to pay attention to her. This little girl acted out because she knew her daddy and grandpa would just throw money at the problem to make it go away. Angelica wanted all of the attention because her parents said she deserved it. Her mother had even told her to ignore Marinette’s suggestions because Angelica was flawless as she is!

Due to her exaggerated sense of self-importance, Angelica had quickly become a problem child for both Marinette and Chloe. Angelica had no friends, just followers, and her allegiances changed rapidly. She stole from the other kids, and she’d been the one to lead the group in bullying Marissa.

Angelica had told her gaggle that if Marissa hadn’t painted her face like a whore, then it wouldn’t have gotten in her eyes.

Marinette had nearly snapped, but by the grace of God, their class time was up. The rink was going to be open for free-skate now, which Mrs. Mockridge never allowed Angelica to stay and participate in. She claimed that she and her daughter had better things to do than waste time at the ice rink.

She’d simply gathered up their equipment and ushered the girls off the ice and back to their parents. The dark haired woman had also made several strict comments about how bullying was not to be tolerated and that if Marinette heard them saying it again, they wouldn’t be performing any time soon. Everyone but the Mockridges took her threat seriously, knowing that Chloe would back Marinette up before them.

Which led Marinette to where she was right now.

Today was Monday, so there weren’t as many people skating during free skate as there would be on the weekends. Chloe had seen how stressed Marinette had gotten and suggested that she let off some steam on the ice. So long as there really wasn’t anyone there, she could practice whatever moves she wanted.

Which sounded oh so nice to Marinette, who was wound up so tightly she thought she’d burst.

Once the zamboni had gone through and done its job, Marinette was one of the first people back on the ice. At first, she only did laps, trying to burn off some of that excess frustration. She really just didn’t understand some people! Just because the Mockridges were a wealthy business family didn’t mean they could just treat everyone else like dirt!

She began to do step sequences to try and take her mind off of the class. At least she had her little ones tomorrow. The five-to-seven year olds who were just learning how to skate were her preferred students, but Chloe had needed an assistant teacher to help out with the pre-teens, and Marinette couldn’t say no. The benefit of having the little ones the day after the pre-teens was that Marinette could relax and think about her much more helpful students.

The younger kids were always helping one another get off the ground or asking if someone else was okay when they fell down. It warmed Marinette’s heart to see them get along.

Their fights happened when someone was in someone else’s space or someone thought someone else was copying them. They were simpler problems with simpler solutions. It did help though that none of her kids in the younger class had the stone cold viciousness of Angelica Mockridge. 

The pre-teens definitely would have been more bearable without  _ that _ one ruining the bunch.

Marinette had gotten so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t even realized she’d gained an audience.

“Why is she out there? Doesn’t she know that we’ve rented the rink for the rest of the day?” one man asked, adjusting his daughter carefully in his grip.

“Probably not, Dickbag, we did do this last minute,” a man with a white streak in his hair complained. “Why are we here again?”

“Because Mar’i wanted to skate with us, and we can’t say no,” a thinner man with black hair that was slightly longer replied. “I’m going to regret this later, aren’t I?”

“Shhhhh!!! I wanna keep watching!” a blonde woman snapped, pinching the thin man. “She’s so graceful! Do you think she’s a pro?”

A woman with dark hair cut into a short bob shrugged before signing that the girl had great form.

The group watched for a little longer until Marinette began to do jumps. This made the little girl in her father’s arms very excited.

“Daddy! Daddy! Can we go meet her! Do you think she can teach me! Daddy, I wanna do jumps like that!” the dark haired girl begged, her bright green eyes nearly glowing. 

The man who’d spoken first looked down at his daughter uncertainly before saying that one of her uncles or daddy could probably teach her to jump like that. This caused the youngest of her uncles to scoff before plucking the child out of her father’s arms. He glared at his older brother before saying, “Don’t be asinine, Grayson. None of us are figure skaters, and Mar’i would more than likely end up hurt if we taught her. The worst she can say is no, so let’s go ask her.”

The little girl, Mar’i, cheered, hugging onto her uncle tightly. They both made their way over to the entrance to the rink, watching as the skater continued to jump gracefully as if she were lighter than air. Once they’d made it to the entrance, he set Mar’i down behind him and tried to get the woman’s attention. The man waited until she’d landed her jump to cough loudly into his fist, hoping he wouldn’t starle her too badly.

Unfortunately, he had.

Marinette’s eyes flew open in a panic as she began to wobble, her concentration broken. She lost control of where she was going, so she attempted to angle herself into a fall in order to regain her center. What she hadn’t been expecting was someone to race out onto the ice and grab her before she could hit the ground.

Fighting to regain control of her breathing, Marinette looked up at the stranger keeping her upright. She nearly tripped over herself again, internally screaming.

He was  _ handsome _ .

The stranger had a nice jawline and cheekbones as well as eyes that appeared to be a jade green. He had dark black hair that was gelled back into spikes, which didn’t work for everyone, but he pulled it off. He was well built and clearly strong as he kept her from falling down twice. He looked a little worried behind the glare he was giving her, which honestly wasn’t much of a glare at all once she figured out he was worried.

“Uncle Dami! Is she okay? You scared her!” a little voice rang out.

This drew Marinette’s attention to probably one of the most darling children she’d ever seen. The little girl had long black hair that was pulled into a braid and big apple green eyes. She was wearing purple  _ everything _ , and her little mitted hands were pressed against her cheeks. She seemed terribly worried about her, and Marinette felt her heart warm a little.

“She’s okay, Mar’i. I caught her before she could hit the ground, but you’re right. I did startle her,” the man said.

This made the little girl stomp a skated foot as she demanded he apologize to her.

The man sighed, but gave the little girl a good natured look. He returned his attention to Marinette, his one arm still not leaving her waist.

“I’m sorry, miss. I didn’t mean to frighten you, but Mar’i was very impressed by those jumps you did. She wanted to ask if you could teach her how to do them,” he said, gesturing towards the little girl.

“Has she ever skated before?” Marinette asked, looking over at the tiny girl still watching them.

“No, this would be her first time,” the stranger replied.

Marinette’s brow furrowed before she slipped out of the stranger’s grasp. She skated over to where the little girl was waiting before kneeling down to be on her level.

“So, you thought my jumps were pretty cool, huh?”

“Yeah! You looked so pretty. Can I look pretty like that too?” the girl asked, bouncing in her spot. “My name is Mar’i Grayson! And the butt who scared you is my uncle Damian!”

Marinette let out a good natured laugh before responding, “Hi Mar’i, I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I teach figure skating lessons here at the rink.”

“You do! Can I join?!” Mar’i gasped, now bouncing even faster. “Or can you teach me now?”

“Well, I can’t teach you how to jump just yet. Your uncle told me this is your first time ice skating, is that right?”

Mar’i nodded, looking a little put out that she couldn’t do the jumps. Marinette gently poked her nose before explaining that first Mar’i needed to learn how to keep her balance and how to start and stop before she could learn anything else.

“Those are key things to know if you want to learn how to jump. If you don’t have balance, you’ll fall down. If you can’t start yourself and speed up, then you won’t get enough speed to jump. If you don’t know how to stop, well you’ll be crashing into the boards, and those hurt, trust me.”

Mar’i looked thoughtful for a second before fixing her green eyes on Marinette again.

“So there’s steps?”

“Mmhm, gotta learn the basics before you do the advanced stuff or you’ll end up hurt. That’s no fun after all.”

“Will you help me?”

Marinette held out her hand towards Mar’i before saying that of course she’d help out. As Mar’i took the stranger’s hand, Damian felt a weird sensation in his chest. She’d basically forgotten he was here...for Mar’i. She seemed to be in full teacher mode now, helping the little girl to position her skates correctly so she could move. She was almost as much of a natural at handling Mar’i as she was with skating herself.

Damian hovered near the boards where Marinette was starting Mar’i at as the rest of the family descended the stands in shock. Dick couldn’t believe that Mar’i had just willingly gone up to a stranger and took her hand. Tim and Jason were both surprised at how  _ well _ Marinette had handled telling Mar’i she  _ couldn’t  _ do the jumps yet. Stephanie was grinning like a madwoman, not missing how Damian was watching the teacher so intently. Cassandra was smiling, happy that the woman had offered to help Mar’i learn how to skate since it seemed to make the six year old very happy.

Just as Dick was about to demand an explanation, Chloe walked back into the rink area, having just finished up cleaning the class supplies. The blonde looked at the group before pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Let me guess, someone last minute rented out the rink? Shit, do I need to tell Nette to come off the ice?” she asked, exasperation clear in her tone.

“Nette? Is that the woman with my daughter?” Dick asked, pointing to where Marinette was trying to get Mar’i to look at her and not her feet.

“Yup, that’s Marinette alright. Funny, I thought her five-to-seven year old class wasn’t until tomorrow...and that it had more students…”

“Her class?” Tim asked, his eyes not moving from Marinette and Mar’i.

“Yeah, Nette and myself teach figure skating lessons here at the rink. I mainly deal with the older kids while Nette’s specialty is dealing with elementary school kids. She’s got the patience of a saint, I’ll tell you what,” Chloe responded before holding out her hand. “Chloe Bourgeois.”

Tim took her hand and shook it, “Tim Drake. The overprotective dad is Richard Grayson, but everyone calls him Dick. The one who looks like he doesn’t want to be here is Jason Todd. The blonde is Stephanie Brown, and the dark haired woman is Cassandra Cain.”

“And the dark haired fella who’s currently with your friend is their baby brother, Damian Wayne. The little girl is our niece and Dick’s daughter, Mar’i. Is Nette single by the way?” Stephanie broke in.

Chloe raised an eyebrow before Steph whined.

“C’mon, she’s the first girl Damian’s ever shown at least the remotest interest in! Look at him! He can’t take his eyes off of her!”

“He’s watching Mar’i, Steph,” Tim said.

“You don’t get to fight me on this, Timothy! He literally hasn’t looked away from  _ Marinette _ even when she’s been letting go of Mar’i’s hand and letting her try doing it by herself!” Steph argued.

Chloe glared at Steph before answering, “She got her heart smashed by a spineless insect, and I’m not too keen to see it shattered again, so how about no?”

While that argument continued on, Cass simply watched her little brother. Both Tim and Steph were wrong. Damian was splitting his attention equally between the pretty instructor and Mar’i. Damian was aware when Mar’i was trying things by herself and was always nearby in case she needed him.

He was also busy talking to Marinette about the classes she taught for kids Mar’i’s age. He seemed to be absorbing everything she was saying about it, even through Mar’i’s excited gasps and pleas to attend said class. He also asked her little, innocuous questions. Questions like if she was from Gotham, or what kinds of food did she like.

These questions made Cass smile because she knew Damian would’t just ask  _ anyone _ about those things. He had to have some interest in her to actually put forth the effort into getting to know her. Damian never did what he felt was unnecessary and what he didn’t want to do. Small talk was normally both of these things, but not today....not with  _ her _ .

The ex-assassin took a deep breath in as she looked between the pair of them.

She just  _ knew _ this was going to be a slow and painful burn before Damian got his head out of his ass...and as painful as she knew it would be to watch, she couldn’t  _ wait _ to see how things turned out.

Who knows?

Maybe Damian would get himself a girlfriend without their interference after all.

Then she saw Damian’s face grow even more confused and red as Marinette helped Mar’i off the ice, speaking in a soothing tone and gently kissing the booboo on Mari’s hand to make it better. When Marinette tried to talk to him again, he turned his face away from her in a desperate attempt to hide his blush.

Or maybe Cass would have to intervene...just a little bit.


	23. Day 23: Melted Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure what kind of Frozen bs this is, but it's something I couldn't get out of my head.
> 
> Damian isn't sure why he keeps coming back...or maybe he does.

Damian didn’t know why he kept returning to the frozen tomb.

Something drew him in each time, forcing him to descend ice-slicked stone stairs and towards the frozen garden. The hallway was decorated with beautiful stained glass windows that were now covered with a permanent layer of frost. He could no longer tell what the windows were supposed to be, but he figured it would have been something plant-related. Snow and ice littered the ground, covering the dead remains of bushes that once flourished and the benches that once lined the walkway.

He could hear the snow and ice crunch and crackle with every step he took towards the once magnificent indoor garden. The door was permanently frozen open, a poor servant (what remained of one) trapped behind it. He ignored the look of fear etched into the woman’s face as he entered the greenhouse.

Damian’s breath created soft white clouds as he entered, light shining in brightly through the frosted glass. It seemed that no matter how much light or warmth was present on the outside, the inside would remain frozen and cold. The snow continued to crunch under his boots as he continued forward, once again ignoring the destruction around him. He only had eyes on the figure in the middle of the garden.

She was the source of the ice, or at least that was what the stories said. They said that the lord of the land had promised to love her, but when he broke this promise, she had sought to destroy him. She had stormed into his home, killed the lord’s lover, and then the lord himself who was in the garden.

The lord was always painted as the victim who had simply fallen in love with another girl.

Damian knew that was a lie.

He could see the ring glinting on the figure’s left hand.

The lord had proposed to two women and married the other first. All the girl at the center of the garden had wanted was answers as to why he’d done this to her. She had wanted to know why she wasn’t good enough for him. She had wanted to know what she’d done to deserve this betrayal. 

When she went to confront the lord, he had done the most dangerous thing he could have done.

He had broken her heart.

Damian didn’t know how, but he could see the outline of the still frozen heart against her chest. He stopped just before touching the figure like he always did, his eyes fixed on the lines of frost that ran across her skin. He gently touched her cheek, glazed with frost and so cold it sent a chill down his spine.

Her stormy-grey blue eyes shone with hopeless, her tears frozen onto her dark lashes and down her cheeks. Her expression was heartbroken and distraught, one arm reaching out towards someone who was no longer there. She looked  _ desperate _ .

The frost was laced through her dark black hair, creating a beautiful pattern that Damian could sketch all day. He had sketched her over and over in every piece of media he could find. He imagined what she would be like if she could speak to him. He imagined her as a warm, gentle person. He imagined her smile would light up a room. He imagined that she would be patient and kind. He imagined that she would listen to his worries and his fears. He imagined that she would understand why his heart was breaking.

She’d been thrown aside by someone she loved more than life itself.

So had he, in a non-romantic sense.

He knew what it was like to be abandoned by the people who were supposed to love you.

Damian wished he could melt her heart.

Maybe then he’d be able to save himself too.


	24. Day 24: Light- Mer!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian is having some problems with the nobles.
> 
> And you all find out just what Jason did. :)

“Doesn’t your majesty grow tired of carting around that  _ girl _ ?”

Damian felt the anger bubbling up in his chest as one of the lords gestured to Marinette, who was fast asleep against his shoulder.

The young mer had quickly tired herself out, asking the young prince plenty of questions about the human world. She was inquisitive and quick to pick up on how things were related to one another, despite only being on land for about a month. She’d fought sleep for as long as she could, wanting to learn as much as she could at once. Her questions seemed endless, but it had made Damian think about certain things that he’d taken for granted or didn’t realize seemed strange to someone not from the kingdom.

He’d thought her curiosity was rather adorable, and he’d felt no burden in answering her questions day after day. It was well worth it if it meant he got to be blessed with the beautiful girl’s bright smile. He was certain she could light up the court if given the chance to charm them all. He was also determined to keep Marinette close so he could ensure that he kept his promise to her to protect her.

Which, as Alfred had predicted, did not sit well with the lords of the land. The lords were rather concerned that the young man was spending ample amounts of time with some disabled stranger. They’d even gone as far as to bring this situation up to his father. His father had settled a time for a meeting as the lords had asked of him...which led to where Damian currently was, sitting with Marinette fast asleep on his lap as he listened to the lords’ bitch.

As far as they were concerned, Marinette didn’t mean anything and was just another peasant girl...unlike their daughters.

Their daughters...who they desperately wanted Damian to meet...some more annoyingly aggressive about it than others.

“Not at all, Lord Rossi,” the dark haired young man said through gritted teeth. “She’s rather light after all.”

“Yes...but you have servants who could surely care for her, do you not?” the lord asked, raising an eyebrow. “After all, a young man like you should be more preoccupied thinking about your future, no?”

Lord Rossi had to be amongst the most annoying of the lords in the court. Lord Rossi had a singular child, a daughter named Lila, who was around Damian’s age. He wanted nothing more than to have his daughter wed the prince as if would not only secure his daughter a high position in the royal court, but it would also improve his standings as well, being the father-in-law to a prince.

Damian  _ despised _ Lila.

The girl was a rude gossip-monger who wasn’t even a decent liar. She’d created many scandals and rumors thanks to her loose lips, and Damian had heard several rather vicious ones aimed at his family. The young prince couldn’t forgive Lila for trying to pass herself off as one of Cass’s friends while invading his sister’s space either, especially when the princess had made it clear she didn’t want to be around Lila.

No one messed with Cass and got away with it, lord’s daughter or not.

“I fail to see how I’m not, Lord Rossi. I’m still attending all of my lectures, and my tutors have assured my father I’m progressing appropriately,” he responded evenly, trying not to let his eye twitch.

“Well, surely you can’t be single forever—”

“I’m not currently looking for a bride, and besides, my eldest brother recently got engaged to Princess Koriand’r, so I believe the point is moot. If anything, Tim should be the one next in line to find a suitable partner.”

Damian bit his tongue as Lord Rossi turned to look at his father with an incredulous look. He tore his attention away from them before he could lose his temper. Instead, he focused on the gorgeous mer still fast asleep.

He wasn’t lying when he said she was rather light. She had a slim frame that fit in Damian’s lap near perfectly. Her hair had been pulled into a series of complicated braids by Cass, who seemed to adore the younger girl, exposing her lovely face. Having her so close, Damian could see the splattering of delicate freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her soft looking lips were slightly open as she slept, but that didn’t retract from how lovely she looked to him. 

She hadn’t gained any weight, despite the cooks’ and Alfred’s attempts. Thankfully, she was eating more than she had when she first arrived, but she was still so light. Her legs were healing up rather nicely as well, however, Leslie still didn’t want Marinette to try walking. She didn’t seem embarrassed by being carried until the situation with the lords began coming up.

Damian hugged Marinette unconsciously, not noticing the looks both his father and the lords were giving him. He smoothed her dress unconsciously, trying not to wake her up. Thankfully, the pale pink dress was made of silk and was easy to smooth, so he was able to fix her skirt without waking her. He took another deep breath before looking over at his eldest brother, and probably the only sane one there.

Dick was smiling, but Damian felt a shiver go down his spine. Dick was using his ‘If-I-could-kill-you-I-would-have-already” smile as he tried to direct Lord Rossi’s attention away from Damian and onto him and his soon-to-be-wife. Their eyes only met for a moment, a protective and fierce glint in his eldest brother’s eyes, before Dick began to politely argue that Damian was right in not searching for a bride yet.

He could feel the tension in the room rising as the arguing got more heated. Dick was firmly on Damian’s side, as were a few of the lords he knew more personally. Lord Rossi and some of the other nobles were insistent that Damian needed to select a wife from one of their children. His father just seemed extremely uncomfortable with the situation, and Damian could understand why. His father didn’t want to agitate the court nobles, but he also didn’t want to upset either Damian or Dick.

A tiny whimper left Marinette’s lips as the argument grew to a ferver, with people beginning to yell. Her storm-like eyes opened slowly, looking around confused. She saw the argument and turned to look at Damian. She tilted her head like a confused and frightened little puppy, and Damian felt his heart twinge as he tried to calm her down. He gently rubbed her arm, whispering quietly that everything was okay before the doors were unceremoniously kicked open.

“OI! COULD THE LOT OF YA SHUT UP?!” Jason shouted. “ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU RUDE BASTARDS DECIDED TO HAVE THIS MEETING WITHOUT ME!”

“...Prince Jason, this has to do with Prince Damian getting engaged, why would we include—” Lord Rossi started before letting out a squeak of terror as a knife flew past his head.

Jason’s green eyes locked onto the lord as he pointed his favorite hunting knife at him.

“Try and force Dames to marry, and I  _ will _ release more wild boars at our balls,” he growled. “I will ruin  _ everyone’s _ chances at potential suitors to save my brother. It worked for me when you fucks tried to pull a fast one, and I guarantee it’ll work again.”

“Princess Koriand’r will—”

“Laugh her ass off and probably help me,” Jason interrupted, rolling his eyes. “Seriously, stop being so insecure over a little girl Dames found in a net and focus on raising yours to be a decent human. How about giving that a try? Maybe then  _ someone _ will want to marry her.”

Damian bit his lip  _ hard _ as he tried not to burst out laughing.

Bruce looked  _ horrified _ .

Dick looked oddly satisfied with his baby brother coming in clutch for their littlest brother.

And Marinette tilted her head to the other side before asking Damian in the lightest, softest question he’d heard from her that day.

“What’s a boar?”

“I’ll tell you later. How about we go hang out with Jason?”

Marinette nodded quietly, wrapping her arms around his neck. Damian stood up and walked towards Jason, still holding Marinette tightly in his grip. Marinette’s face flushed brilliantly as she realized the lords were looking at her, burying her face in his shoulder.

“Are you sure I’m okay like this?” she mumbled.

“Of course, Mari,” he responded, strolling past Jason.

“I’m not too—”

“Mari, you’re lighter than a feather. You’re fine right where you are, in my arms.”

Jason watched as his little brother disappeared with Marinette down the hall before turning to look back at the lords in the room.

“Remember...try and force him to wed? Wild. Boars. Every. Ball.”

And with that, Jason followed after the pair, leaving the stunned noblemen, his eldest brother, and his father to wonder just what the hell had just happened.


	25. Day 25: White- Naga!Au

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She fascinates him....pity he doesn't know her name?

Her scales were  _ fascinating _ to him.

The female naga’s scales were smooth against his fingers as he gently checked her abdomen. Her wounds looked as if they were beginning to get infected, so he’d applied the salve that Alfred had left him the last time he visited. He knew he’d have to consistently check her wounds to ensure the infection couldn’t progress to lethal levels, but there wasn’t anything more he could do at the moment.

So, he’d taken to observing his little krait.

Her scales contrasted beautifully and brilliantly against one another, not to mention his own scales. The white of her scales reminded him of the white coat of a rabbit or the color of clouds, pure and bright. Her other scales were an inky black that reminded him of the night sky. The bands of black appeared to be thicker towards her abdomen and thinned out towards the bottom of her tail.

The tail that was now  _ tightly  _ coiled around him for warmth.

The white and black scales were even more brilliant against the tans and browns of his more jagged-looking scales. He struggled to keep them flat, not wanting her to be any more uncomfortable than she already was. He could tell she had a fever, due to her flushed face and shivering. He’d pressed a cool rag against her forehead, wanting to bring down her temperature.

She had then grabbed his arm and dragged him into the nest. Given that Damian hadn’t expanded his nest for a mate, it was a snug fit. Due to them being so close, his little krait had taken it upon herself to wrap around him, and he’d had to quickly adjust so he wouldn’t agitate her injuries or harm her further.

Now, Damian was trapped by the exhausted female naga. His mind struggled to catch up with the fact that she was supposed to be  _ his _ mate alongside that she’d been  _ hurt _ by her clan. The viper felt his fangs itch as he resisted the urge to go hunt down her clan. His more rational side then told him to stay put and watch over her. If he was there, and not hunting down her poor excuse for a clan, then he could  _ protect her _ .

If he left, she could get sicker, more injured, or  _ die _ .

And that was the last thing Damian wanted.

Another side of his brain was buzzing that he didn’t even know the little krait’s  _ name _ .

She hadn’t introduced herself, despite agreeing to stay in Damian’s den. He chalked it up to being hurt and sick, but it was odd to think he could only call her ‘little krait’ when referring to her.

Oh Gods, Dick could  _ never _ find out about that.

His elder brother would give him  _ hell _ if he figured out Damian hadn’t even asked his mate for her  _ name _ . Not to mention what  _ Alfred _ would do if he heard about the young viper’s poor manners. They would be  _ furious _ about his behavior towards her as well, attacking her before convincing her to go into his nest without even  _ courting her _ ?

_ Barbaric _ .

He began to hum, trying to calm down his racing mind. He could fix this! He could salvage this! Obviously, the only reason she was in his den and nest was because she was sick and injured. She had agreed to join him in his den so he could treat her wounds. He’d already told her he wanted her company, and that would be the perfect way to get to know her!

Clearly she’d been hurt by someone, so Damian had to be patient. He had to wait for his little krait to come to him before he could even  _ dream _ of courting her. He couldn’t push too fast if he wanted to have the pleasure of learning her  _ name _ .

It was also clear that she’d fought fang and nail to escape from her former clan. She had fought for her right to reject a mate, and then she was  _ dishonored  _ by her clan when they didn’t respect her victory. Her clan had then tried to  _ force _ a mate on her, and she’d had to fight  _ them _ to earn her freedom. She’d had fire in her even when Damian found her on his rock!

This naga was clearly strong, sharp, and potentially deadly.

Which just made the pretty white and black scaled naga even  _ more _ attractive in Damian’s eyes.

He took a deep breath in, his instincts humming in the background as he took in her scent, and gently held onto the smaller naga, trying to keep her warm. His green eyes began to flutter shut as he watched the little krait sleep. He continued to hum, feeling her snuggle closer as he did. Eventually he was able to drift off, dreaming of the bright white and ink black scales and stormy blue-grey eyes.


	26. Day 26: School- Exchange Student!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian meets a puzzling girl.
> 
> Fortunately, he likes puzzles.

Damian  _ despised  _ school.

It was a pointless endeavor as the League had already taught him everything he needed to know. His father told him that there were things books couldn’t teach him, and that’s why he needed to go to school. Damian disagreed. He could simply learn the rest of it from his own research and Grayson, couldn’t he?

According to his father, that was a no.

The worst part?

His father was now making him chaperone an exchange student...which was an even  _ bigger _ waste of his time! He didn’t care who’s kid she was! He didn’t want to guide some stuck up brat around Gotham Academy while he desperately tried to ignore the  _ other _ stuck up brats that attended Gotham Academy. Surely once this girl learned he was  _ the _ Bruce Wayne’s son, she’d fawn over him like every other disgusting girl.

Right?

Unfortunately, life seemed to like to sucker punch him...and then the tiny foreign exchange student nearly  _ decked him _ .

Damian had gone up to the tiny black haired girl who was talking with the office secretary and tapped her on the shoulder. This  _ tiny _ five-foot tall teen had nearly jumped out of her skin before sending a right hook his way. He was easily able to side-step it to avoid getting hit, but he was still surprised.

Not many people, fear reaction or not, tried to  _ swing _ on him.

Not many people would snarl at him the same way she did either.

“Do  _ not _ sneak up on me. It won’t end well for you.”

The youngest Wayne had felt the entire room’s blood go cold as the staff waited to see how he reacted. Instead of lashing out, as he probably would have done if he was still ten years old, the dark haired teen decided to get a good look at the girl. He analyzed the tiny girl, sussing out that she was probably of Asian descent mixed in with some European ancestry. She had a small frame, but upon further inspection, he realized that she was lean but muscular. She had a sweet looking face, but those  _ eyes. _

Those eyes looked like the sky before the storm came pouring down.

He knew those eyes meant business too.

“My apologies, miss. My name is Damian, and I was told I’d be your guide for your stay,” he responded calmly, watching her closely to see her reaction.

The teen’s demeanor was guarded and cautious, but she accepted his apology. She then held out her hand for a handshake and introduced herself as Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Her grip was surprisingly firm and sure for someone who seemed like she couldn’t hurt a fly. Her gaze didn’t lower from his either, keeping the eye contact. He let go of her hand, interested by this new puzzle.

She wasn’t anything like he’d expected.

She also wasn’t like anything Bruce had told him.

Who exactly was this Marinette Dupain-Cheng?

As she walked past him, telling him that they needed to get a move on or they’d be late for the first period like he wasn’t the  _ Ice King _ of Gotham Academy, a smile slipped on his face. He could barely hear the concerned whispers behind him from the faculty about his grin.

She appeared to be a puzzle...a challenge.

And there was nothing Damian Wayne enjoyed more than a good puzzle.


	27. Day 27: Falling- Naga!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette finally tells him her name.

Marinette was puzzled by the viper that had invited her into his nest.

The viper, Damian, had been oddly considerate of her, despite this being his home. He’d waited until she told him he could approach  _ his _ nest. He asked her whether or not he could touch her wounds. He asked what she preferred to eat, and he would go and  _ hunt _ if he didn’t have it. He gave her the best furs to sleep with.

He also had allowed her to curl up on him, trapping him with her own tail, because her body thought she was cold. He was rather sweet on her, despite their rough first encounter. He also started to leave her flowers and other trinkets nearby the nest for her to find.

It was...sweet, but strange.

Her sense of smell had been coming back slowly as the infection left her body, but she still couldn’t smell well. However, she’d noticed how Damian scented her quite frequently. It had led her to wonder why the viper was scenting her, and why he seemed to be so keen on trying to impress her. Was it her scent? Was something wrong? Was something right?

Marinette hadn’t had much time to dwell on the scenting that much, however. The dark haired naga only had one thing on her mind, and that was keeping a close eye on Damian while he took care of her wounds. It had always amazed her that a naga who looked so rough and strong could be so gentle.

Once her fever broke, however, things made much more sense.

The krait couldn’t believe that she hadn’t realized it before.

The viper was  _ courting _ her.

He was offering her food, the best of his supplies, trinkets, and a _ den _ . These were all things that a traditional naga would use to show their potential mate that the other naga could  _ provide _ for their mate. He didn’t seem to be rushing for an answer. Instead, it appeared he was going at  _ her _ pace. He was waiting for  _ her _ to be comfortable with him before trying to go further.

And Marinette couldn’t help but feel warmth spread through her chest and into her stomach.

No other naga had shown interest in her before Adrien came back and declared her his mate without a word. Now, here was this strong, handsome viper, who was acting like he wasn’t welcome in his own den because she was there. He was trying to court her. He was trying to impress her.

It made her smile brightly at the other naga, feeling shy and happy.

“Damian?” she murmured, wrapping the furs around herself tighter.

“Yes, my little krait?” the viper asked, setting down the herbs he’d gone out to pick.

“Sleep?”

The viper came closer to the nest where she was resting before gently smoothing her hair. He seemed to pause when she caught his wrist, but he didn’t resist the krait’s pull. She pulled him back into the nest before curling up around him. She hummed happily as she adjusted her body to fit next to his. She snuggled close to him, tucking her head underneath his chin.

She then felt his strong arms wrap around her quietly, gently stroking her side. Smiling happily, she looked up to see those jade green eyes gazing down at her. Her stormy eyes looked up at him, not looking away from a moment.

“Little krait?” Damian murmured, stroking her hair gently.

“Mmhm?”

“What’s your name?”

Marinette shot up, wincing at the pain in her side before looking incredulously at him.

“You don’t know my name?” she asked.

“You never introduced yourself,” he replied.

She felt her face heat up as she buried her head in his shoulder. She murmured her name into his shoulder. She could feel the rumbling of Damian’s laughter and heard him ask her to repeat herself.

“Marinette!” she finally managed to spit out, her face red.

“Marinette...what a pretty name for a pretty krait,” he said, grinning broadly at her.

“...’m not going to bond with you...yet.”

“Yet means I have a chance, so I’ll take it, my little krait.”

“ ‘m not just going to fall.”

“That’s fine. I’ll just keep trying until you’ve fallen for me.”

Marinette bit the inside of her cheek before leaning into his touch. She refused to admit it just yet...but perhaps she’d already fallen for him....


	28. Day 28: Distress- Naga!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's an intruder...
> 
> And Marinette's not doing too hot.

The black and white krait naga knew there was a chance of this happening.

She just didn’t think  _ he’d  _ be stupid enough to invade a much stronger naga’s territory.

Marinette could feel her wounds stinging from how she was crouched as she stared down the last naga she wished to see. She was partially hidden behind Damian, but she could still see the stupid blond naga, glaring at the viper. She saw how those acidic green eyes looked at the pair of them, going from hopeful to angry in seconds. His grass-green scales were bright, making him unmistakable.

Adrien Agreste had actually followed her into the other naga’s turf.

“You lost, Adrien,” Marinette hissed. “I fought you, and you lost. You’re not my mate.”

“C’mon, Mari! Quit being stubborn and come home! My father said if we mate he’ll forgive you for your insolence. Plus, your mother’s been crying her heart out since you left. She's been so worried about you, and so has your dad. Don’t you want to go home and see your parents?” the blond asked, his eyes roaming Marinette’s form.

Marinette felt her throat closing up as she thought about her parents.

They had no way of knowing whether she was dead or alive. They had been restrained during her fight to keep them from interfering as well as to keep them from helping her escape should she have lost. The last time they saw her, she was badly injured and running away from the naga she'd once considered  _ family. _

Marinette was suddenly hit with the painful realization that she may never see them again. Her parents might have to accept false information that their daughter is dead, especially if Adrien wanted to use them to manipulate her. She began to tear up, feeling overwhelmed, and pressed herself against Damian. 

Damian’s fangs itched again as he watched the pitiful naga before him who was trying to emotionally manipulate his mate. How dare this ignorant bastard play with her feelings?! He let out an angry hiss, drawing Adrien's attention away from Marinette.

"Just who do you think you are, you pathetic snakelet? You're not welcome here!" he growled, raising himself up. 

Adrien winced, but he didn't back down. 

"She was promised to me by the counsel—"

"And she defeated you in combat, as is tradition. That means you lose all claims to her that were promised by whomever thought it was appropriate to treat another naga like an item rather than a living being," Damian responded, slowly moving closer to the intruder. "Marinette is her own naga, and therefore, she can and has refused you. Get. Over. It."

Adrien’s acidic green eyes narrowed and he raised himself up on his tail to meet the viper's challenge. 

"She's my clanmate, and my future mate. I haven't braved the very edges of our territory to be denied by a mere gatherer! You will return her," he snarled, darting towards Damian. 

Marinette felt her hair raise and went to stop Adrien, but Damian was faster.

The viper shot forward and struck low, dodging the right hook that was heading for his head. Despite his opponent stumbling back and letting out a wheeze of pain, Damian did not let up. He delivered another swift punch to the other naga’s solar plexus, causing him to one again spasm and wheeze in pain.

The viper then struck again, this time smashing his opponent's nose with the palm of his hand. He needed to take advantage of the fortuitous first strike to Adrien’s solar plexus to keep the other naga from fighting back. He couldn't let him hurt Marinette again. 

To his credit, Adrien didn't go down quietly. He lashed out at Damian, aiming strikes at his face. He'd managed to clip Damian in the jaw, but the viper had just laughed it off.

If he hadn’t been trained viciously by his mother and grandfather, then Adrien might have had a ghost of a chance. However, the vigorous training Damian endured as a snakelet and with his brothers gave him an upper-hand in this fight.

Adrien was quick, but Damian knew how to over-power and disarm.

Adrien aimed for spots that he could get to quickly and that would cause pain. 

Damian took less shots and aimed for spots that would disable or  _ kill _ .

The viper had just shoved the other back with another well-aimed hit when something shot out of the underbrush… or someone.

It took all of his training, but Damian managed to stop himself mid-strike to see a familiar figure tackle Adrien. The diamond pattern along the back of his tail and the eerie rattle told him everything he needed to know. 

Jason had been stalking their intruder. The rattlesnake seemed  _ pissed _ with his green eyes practically glowing with malice. Jason had him pinned under his considerable size (as Jason was one of the biggest naga of their clan aside from their father), and his one hand was firm around the back of the green naga’s throat.

"Dames, you okay?" Jason hissed, practically smushing Adrien’s face into the ground. "Little bastard attacked Harper and Duke with some other naga, and that's how he got in."

Damian’s fangs extended this time as he glared down at the prone figure.

"Are they alright?" he asked, fighting back the urge to kill the intruder.

"They'll be fine, but Harper is going to have a nasty scar," Jason responded, twisting Adrien’s arm back. "And I hear you're to blame, pretty boy. You'll pay for that."

"Your clanmate stole my mate!" Adrien managed to cough out. "He started it. You can't kill me anyway! Not if Marinette wants to see her parents again. "

_ Marinette! _

The viper whirled around to see Marinette practically pressing herself into the ground. She had tears in her eyes as she shook in what a Damian could only think was  _ fear _ . Her eyes were firmly fixed on Adrien before she managed to whimper, "What did you do?"

"Come back with me and find out."

The viper pulled the little krait off the ground, allowing her to latch onto him for support. He rubbed her back as she finally broke down and began to cry. He was honestly surprised it had taken her this long to cry, but he supposed everyone dealt with stress differently. He had been pretty sure that she'd deal with it similarly to Dick, who would be the first of his brothers to cry when upset, though. 

Jason finally seemed to notice Marinette, and the rattlesnake raised an eyebrow at his youngest brother. He then smiled before showing off his own fangs. 

"Awww, baby’s all grown up! Dickieboy is going to cry, you know that, right? Who's the little krait?" he cackled, watching the tips of Damian’s ears turn red. 

"Jason, not now! Can't you see she's upset?" he hissed back, still rubbing soothing circles into her back. "Breathe, little krait. Just breathe.."

The rattlesnake quickly knocked Adrien out before slithering close to his brother and the naga who was practically bathed in his scent. His green eyes scanned her face, looking slightly puzzled before snapping his fingers.

"Hey! She looks like that older naga we found. The one with her mate! They said they were looking for their daughter," Jason said. "The female was a krait, just like her."

Both naga eased as Marinette responded, looking hopeful instead of despondent. She practically darted out of Damian’s arms to get to Jason, asking him if he was serious. Her stormy grey-blue eyes seemed to light up as he responded that he was serious. 

"Blondie and the raid party had them tied up. He said something about them being insurance of some kind. Guess I know now… but they're back with Bruce and Alfred. The older krait is actually helping Alfred take care of Harper."

Damian watched Marinette shift though feelings of anger, anxiety, and relief. The little krait almost slumped over, but the viper was quick to catch her. He pulled the still shaking krait back into his arms before saying, "You need to lay down. I know you want to see if those are your parents, but you're in no condition to go anywhere right now."

"Damian—"

"Marinette, you're barely over the infection you got from your wounds. You won't have the strength," the viper sighed. "Please, little krait. Wait until you've gotten better so you won't get hurt. Your parents wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

Jason couldn't believe what he was witnessing. His proud little brother… was  _ pleading _ with the krait! He never begged anyone for anything! He would just force you to do it one way or another. 

Just who was this little naga?

He watched silently as Damian managed to herd her back into his den. He followed quietly, not wanting to startle them. His baby brother was gently talking to her in a soft and soothing tone as he settled her back down into the nest. He hummed quietly as he assessed the state of Damian's den. 

It had changed.

Damian had widened his nest. There were also little trinkets and flowers strewn about the den. He had added fish to his diet, even though Jason knew Damian didn't eat fish. Had he gotten them just for her?

As soon as the little krait was settled into the nest, Jason crossed his arms over his chest and asked, "You adopting strays now?"

"She's my  _ mate. _ "

"What happened to all that big talk about how you'd never give in to your instincts—"

"She's my Kori, Jason."

The rattlesnake paused at that before nodding slowly.

“Want me to bring her parents? Or do you want me to let them know she’s okay, and she’ll stay until the season’s over?” he asked quietly.

“Bring them.”

“Really, Demon? You want them around when you—”

“We’re not mating this season! We’re courting, you heathen! Besides...she’ll worry herself back to sickness if she doesn’t see them…”

“Whatever you say. I’m going to take blondie back to Bruce, and then I’ll be back with your parents-in-law. Tim isn’t going to  _ believe _ that you of all people found your mate before him. He’s going to be so  _ pissed _ ,” Jason said with a fanged grin. “See you later, Demon.”

Damian waved absent-mindedly to his brother as he looked over Marinette’s wounds, carefully making sure she hadn’t pulled any stitches. Once he was done, he settled down in the nest next to the spaced-out and anxious krait. He wrapped himself around her gently, kissing the top of her head.

“It will be okay, Marinette. I’m right here. I’ll protect you...try to sleep, my little krait. I’ll be right here.”

...Marinette didn’t respond, blinking slowly as she stared at the nest wall.

He really hoped Jason would come back as soon as possible with her parents.

Otherwise he’d have to try and fix this alone...and he wasn’t sure he could fix  _ this. _


	29. Day 29: Hot Chocolate- Amaya Wayne!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a little hot chocolate thief on the loose!
> 
> Damian and Marinette may have created a little monster.

Tiny giggles could be heard throughout the hall as a tiny thief made her great escape. The little girl had messy pitch black hair and brilliant green eyes. She also had a cute little button nose and a light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. She was currently dressed in a calico cat onesie (a gift from her grandpa), with a comically large mug clenched in her little hands.

She’d had to wait  _ forever _ for Uncle Dick to fall asleep, but he finally went night night! The tiny tot had watched her uncle make something he called hot cocoa. When she’d asked for some, he’d told her no, stating that she wasn’t supposed to have sugar this late at night. Her uncle hadn’t budged on his decision, stating that she wouldn’t go to sleep if she had some, but that wasn’t going to stop her!

She knew Uncle Dick never finished his drinks when he grabbed the super mug! It was one of the biggest mugs in the house, and Uncle Dick used it when he was trying to stay up past his bedtime! It was left about a fourth of the way full by the time he’d fallen asleep, but the tot was okay with that. At least she was still going to get some, right?

The dark haired girl quickly hid herself behind Grandpa Bruce’s big arm chair before carefully setting down the mug that was almost as big as her face. She plopped herself down, satisfied that she’d gotten away with her thievery. If not, she knew Grandpa Bruce wasn’t going to tattle on her, so that’s why she hid by his chair.

Wiggling excitedly, the tot grabbed the mug and began to drink from it.

Only to promptly put it down and scrunch up her face.

It was sweet, but something was off about it. It reminded her a little bit of chocolate milk, but not as good. Then she remembered it had been hot when Uncle Dick had made it. Maybe it didn’t taste good cold? But how was she going to—

“Amaya Vivienne Wayne, what do you have there?”

Uh oh…

The tiny girl turned her head to spot her father staring at her, one eyebrow lifted in amusement.

“Hot cocoa...but it’s cold, Abun,” Amaya answered, a frown on her face. “Uncle Dick wouldn’t share!”

“Why didn’t he share, Albi?” her father asked, kneeling beside her.

“He said it was too much sugar, and I needed to go night night. But he went night night, and he drank it!” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “So why can’t I go night night and still drink it?”

“Oh dear, I’m going to have to tell Maman that you’re spending too much time with Aunt Chloe.”

“No!”

“No, what?” a third voice asked. “Damian, did you find Amaya?”

Amaya crossed her arms and pouted as her father took away the super mug. She watched him hand it to her surprised mother before he scooped her up in his arms. Her father then smiled at her mother before replying, “Yes, apparently she’s been busy plotting to steal Dick’s hot cocoa...however, it’s cold now, malāki.”

Her mother smiled as she shook her head before kissing her daughter’s chubby cheek.

“Well, that’s too bad. However, you can’t have any more tonight. It’s time for bed,” Marinette said, gently tapping her daughter on the nose.

“But Maman—”

“Perhaps...if you were to go to bed and stay in bed, maybe Maman will make you the cocoa that her Maman and Papa used to make for her. That’s only if you behave though.”

Amaya immediately lit up before nodding vigorously.

“C’mon, Abun! I gots to go to bed! You heard Maman!”

Damian chuckled before kissing his wife on the cheek. He told Marinette to check and see how Amaya had managed to get that huge mug while he put her to bed. Marinette agreed, softly kissing her daughter’s forehead before telling her goodnight.

Just as Damian and Amaya disappeared around the corner, Marinette heard a crash from the kitchen. She turned to look in the direction of the kitchen and spotted her brother-in-law racing towards her. He looked frazzled and confused, barely skidding to a stop before running right into her.

“Marinette! Where did you—?”

“You honestly didn’t think just telling Ama no was going to work, did you?”

Dick’s exhausted blue eyes blinked at her twice before he hissed, “Your daughter is too smart. Why did the powers that be let you and Damian reproduce? She’s going to be too powerful.”

Marinette shrugged, giving him back the mug.

“Goodnight, Dick. Oh, and next time, just send me or Dami a text and we’ll come get her, okay?”

Dick nodded, still grumbling about how their ‘superspawn’ was going to take over the world as if she’d just robbed a bank and not stolen a mug of hot chocolate. It made Marinette want to rub her temples. The Waynes were just  _ something else _ .

...But at least she was never bored?


	30. Day 30: Dancer-Dancer!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More of Marinette's POV from day 4.

If there was one thing Marinette Dupain-Cheng loved more than dancing pointe, it was assistant teaching the beginner ballet classes.

The little kids were so adorable in their little leotards, tutus, and tiny ballet shoes. The majority of her students were always in such a joyful mood and bursting with lots of energy. The looks on their little faces when they accomplished learning a new step or remembering a new part of their dance filled Marinette with pride and joy. They always looked so  _ pleased _ with themselves, and it made her happy to see them flourish.

There was just one thing she hadn’t expected when she agreed to help teach the beginner class.

The dark haired woman hadn’t expected to become the babysitter of one of the most energetic girls in her class.

Mar’i Grayson was a black haired, green-eyed ball of energy. The young girl was often excited to learn new steps, even though she could become frustrated at times. She loved helping out her fellow dancers, and she had a naturally sunny attitude. The little girl was rarely bothered by much, but when she got angry...well, at least it was a situation that Marinette knew she could handle.

Mar’i had told Marinette time and time again about how her mommy was an ambassador, and her daddy was a policeman, so sometimes they were late to come get her. When Marinette expressed that it must be a stressful experience, waiting to see who was going to pick her up, Mar’i had explained that if mommy or daddy  _ really _ couldn’t make it, then her grandpa, great uncle, or one of her aunts or uncles would come get her. Mar’i had then let Marinette know that Delilah, the secretary, had a list of people who were allowed to pick her up.

Seeing the list hadn’t prepared her for  _ shit _ .

Not when one of the most handsome men she’d ever seen had come walking over to her, asking if Mar’i was ready to go.

She also wasn’t prepared for the absolute  _ softest _ smile she’d ever seen when Mar’i had appeared, shouting out, “UNCLE DAMI! YOU’RE HOME!”

The man had then scooped up Mar’i before hugging her tightly, still giving her that gentle smile that melted Marinette’s heart. She had been even more taken with him when he’d apologized to Mar’i for his business trip taking so long. Watching him interact with the five-year old had caused Marinette’s heart do flips in her chest.

This pattern had continued for a good month before he actually started talking to her. Their conversations had begun with how Mar’i always told Damian that she was her favorite teacher. Marinette had responded in kind by telling him all about Mar’i’s progress in ballet, and how proud she was to have her as a student. Slowly but surely, a friendship was built up, especially after a complicated fiasco in which Dick and Kori were unable to get Mar’i, and the temporary secretary couldn’t find Delilah’s list of contact numbers.

Marinette had not only found the binder (Delilah always left it in the same place), but managed to get a hold of Damian and explain that Mar’i was sick and they couldn’t reach her parents. The dark haired dancer had taken care of the little girl until her worried uncle came bursting through the dressing room doors.

He’d thanked her profusely, immediately collecting Mar’i.

That was also the day he gave her his private number so she could always get a hold of him.

_ “I have a burner phone for stuff like this just in case someone decides to steal the number and sell it to the paparazzi. This is my personal cell number. Call me anytime you need me, Firefly.” _

She’d nearly fainted right there.

Six months later, and he’d gifted her with  _ flowers? _

The other ballerinas told her that Damian  _ had _ to be in love with her.

“He got you flowers!” one chirped. “Guys don’t just  _ give _ stuff away like that unless there’s some feelings.”

“They’re not roses,” Marinette squeaked, still a bit shocked over receiving the thank you bouquet. 

“Soooo? Flowers have different meanings you know!” another girl giggled. “Ask Alayna! Her grandma and aunt own a flower shop!”

Marinette had turned to her fellow dancer, face flushed before saying, “Is that true?”

The blonde haired girl bit her lip for a second before nodding.

“Yeaaah, I’m pretty sure he bought that from their shop too,” Alayna admitted. “I recognize the paper and emblem. And he got it from Gran because she’s the only one who does her bows like that.”

“What’s so important about your gran being the one who made it?” another girl asked.

“Because Gran has people describe their loved one for her...and then she picks flowers based on the person and how the buyer feels about them. Red Chrysanthemums means 'I love you', the coreopsis means 'always cheerful', gardenia means 'secret love', and Honey Suckle means 'bonds of love',” Alayna sighed. “He might not realize it yet, but Gran sure has. He definitely likes you way more than a friend.”

Marinette flushed brilliantly before hiding her face in the bouquet.

Was Alayna right? Was Alayna’s gran right? Was Damian really interested in her? Or was this really just a thank you gift? Was she reading too much into it? Oh God, what if she was—

Her stream of panic got cut off by the ringing of her phone.

Marinette quickly picked up her phone to see who she got a text from. She nearly dropped her phone as she realized it was  _ Damian _ .

**To: Me**

**From: Green Eyes**

**I hope you like those flowers, Firefly.**

**To: Green Eyes**

**From: Me**

**Yes, they’re lovely. Thank you so much.**

**To: Me**

**From: Green Eyes**

**You’ll have to tell me your favorite flower so I can get you those next time.**

The dancer’s grey-blue eyes widened as she nearly dropped her phone  _ again _ .

Next time?

There was going to be a next time?!

She could hear her fellow ballerinas laughing before Alayna smiled smugly and said, “Gran’s always right, Mari. Gran’s always right.”


	31. Day 31: Fireworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette can no longer look at fireworks the way she used too.
> 
> But at least she found a friend?
> 
> Warning for slight angst.

Someone once told her things never really change.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng really wished she could remember who it was so she could tell them they were a fucking  _ liar _ .

Well, that wasn’t entirely fair. 

The person who told her that probably hadn’t considered that an old man would drop a centuries old set of magical earrings in her lap because there was another man with a centuries old magical brooch who was about to fuck shit up for everyone.

She didn’t regret becoming Ladybug. After all, Paris had needed someone to defend them from Hawkmoth! She was proud to be chosen, and she was proud of all that she’d accomplished. She was proud that she’d become one of the strongest ladybug miraculous wielders. She was proud that she defeated Hawkmoth despite the odds stacked against her. She was proud that she’d protected her family.

If she could have had one thing, perhaps it would have been to be  _ older _ than thirteen when she received the ladybug miraculous.

Perhaps she wouldn’t be as fucked up as she was now.

Marinette let out a hollow laugh as she thought about it. She used to love fireworks. She used to love setting them off with her friends. They used to be nothing but mostly harmless, fun and bright beacons of entertainment and joy.

Now she could only think of collapsing buildings and people screaming when she heard the cracking of a firework.

It had nearly caused her to transform several times out of panic, thinking that there was another akuma, despite having defeated Gabriel Agreste almost three years ago. Tikki had grown concerned and asked Marinette to see someone, but how could she explain herself? How could she explain that she’d had an enormous burden dropped onto her shoulders with no consideration for how it would affect her?

She couldn’t.

So Marinette sat off to the side of the roof, holding her hands over her ears as she tried desperately not to sob at the sound.

She knew going out was a stupid idea.

Or at least it was until a stranger offered her his headphones.

The green eyed man had given her a weary look before saying, “Fireworks trigger a trauma response? Used to happen to me all the time. Sometimes it still does. These’ll help.”

Marinette almost sobbed as the sounds became muffled. She ended up leaning into him as they sat away from the party. He didn’t talk much, but he stayed by her until the fireworks were over.

Once the explosions had stopped, he offered her his hand.

“Damian.”

She took it, feeling some odd sense of hope.

“Marinette.”

Maybe they could be friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm sorry this literally took me three months to finish. My mental health has been really bad as of late, and I'm really struggling to do things irl as well as write. I hope you've enjoyed at least some of these prompts, and hopefully by next year things will be better.
> 
> Stay strong,
> 
> Kan


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